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London-bound EasyJet diverted after teen’s outburst forces emergency landing
Passengers on an EasyJet flight from Turkey to London endured an ordeal when a 16-year-old girl’s outburst disrupted the journey, forcing an emergency landing in Italy, with one calling it the “flight from hell.”
The teenager, travelling with her mother and grandmother, reportedly became agitated after a 10-year-old passenger seated nearby had a coughing fit.
Nadine, a 39-year-old passenger on board, told The Sun, “The little girl went to the toilet, but the older girl followed her,”
“The girl kept having outbursts saying ‘get out of my face,’ and she wouldn’t let her out.”
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Teen attempts to open plane door, threatens crew
When the younger child’s mother tried to intervene, the teenager’s behaviour escalated. “She just started shouting abuse at the crew members and then stormed to the back of the plane,” Nadine said.
“She was trying to open the door, and she broke the handle. The crew members pulled her away and restrained her.”
“She was surrounded by all the crew members, but one tried to calm her down. She started screaming on the plane, and she threatened to stab a crew member,” Nadine told The Sun. She later rammed down the aisle, knocking a woman who was coming out of the restroom. The blow forced both of them into the cockpit door of the aircraft.
“At one point she took off her shoes and threw them at passengers. Everyone was so nervous,” Nadine recalled.
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EasyJet apologizes after teen’s outburst causes emergency landing
EasyJet crew members somehow managed to calm the teenager and return her to her seat, but the pilots decided to divert the flight for safety reasons. The plane landed in Bari, Italy, where the teenager was escorted off by police.
The passengers were provided overnight accommodation, but Nadine said the hotel was “horrifying.”
“Don’t get me started on the bathroom with all the mold on the floor. The door didn’t even lock. The next morning I saw the hotel in the light—what a dump! There were broken windows and rubbish piled up,” Nadine recalled.
She also criticized EasyJet, claiming the airline “did not care about us on the plane” and failed to offer adequate compensation.
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Following the ordeal EasyJet told The Sun in a statement, “The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always EasyJet’s priority. While this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience this will have caused.”