41 Intoxicated Passengers Reportedly Ejected From Flight
Jeff Edwards November 21, 2016
A Brussels Airlines flight returned to the gate after the large group of passengers became disruptive shortly before takeoff.
The captain of a Brussels Airlines flight from Brussels Airport (BRU) to Alicante–Elche Airport (ALC) in Spain made good on a promise to turn this plane around after group of 41 passengers refused to behave. The large bloc of outrageous travel companions was no longer aboard the plane when it eventually took off after a two-and-a-half-hour-delay.
According to The Brussels Times, the plane returned to the gate shortly after departure to remove the contingent of disorderly flyers. Police were summoned to ensure there was no more trouble from the rowdy group, but the aircraft was emptied without any additional incidents and no arrests were reported. Passengers not involved in the unpleasantness were allowed to rebound the flight sometime later, but all 41 members of the misbehaving entourage were barred from reentry and their luggage was removed from the plane.
Meanwhile, the delay grew even longer when a fresh crew had to be called to replace the original crew who had exceeded their maximum hours because of onboard disruption. The 95 remaining passengers on the flight arrived at ALC several hours behind schedule but were able to travel with a bit of extra elbowroom as a small consolation.
Describing the groups behavior as “unruly” and “aggressive,” Brussel Airlines spokesperson Kim Daenen told ABC News that the some of the offending passengers had been drinking prior to boarding the flight. “During taxiing, there were a few passengers who were being unruly and also aggressive toward our crew,” Daenen said. “The captain asked for them to stay calm […] We had to think of the comfort of the other passengers.”
[Photo: Star Alliance]
