Passenger Removed From Flight Twice for Knife

EASYJET- GATWICK AIRPORT OPERATIONS Pix:Tim Anderson

A passenger was allowed to return to his EasyJet flight after a knife was discovered in his carry-on bag, but the captain soon had the man removed again.

An EasyJet flight from Toulouse Blagnac Airport (TLS) to Bristol Airport (BRS) on March 11 was disrupted after passengers were upset that a man who had previously been removed from the flight after a small knife was discovered among his personal items was allowed to re-board the plane.

The Daily Mail reports that the unidentified passenger was originally removed from the flight after security screeners reported that a knife with a six-centimeter blade was found in his carry-on bag. The flyer was allowed to return to his seat a short time later after officials determined that the small blade on the penknife was within size limits and therefore allowed on the aircraft.

Other passengers on the flight, however, were not pleased to see the ejected man re-board and began to protest his return. Some of the fellow passengers then reported that the man had allegedly issued a threat, bragging that he could “bring the plane down.” In an attempt to calm the situation, the captain ordered the man removed from the flight a second time.

Police say that since the blade was perfectly legal, no charges would be filed against the ejected passenger. The threat against the plane was simply described as a “misunderstanding.” A border police spokesman told La Depeche, “The airport’s security teams, who checked the man’s hand luggage, did not commit any fault, given that the Leatherman knife (a Swiss penknife variant) that they found is authorized on planes.”

An EasyJet spokesman apologized for the incident, but insisted that safety and security remain the top priorities of the airline. “EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY6142 from Toulouse to Bristol on 11 March 2016 was delayed due to additional security checks before departure,” airline officials told the Daily Mail. “A passenger was found carrying a small pocketknife, which was subsequently examined and cleared by the authorities.”

The flight took off two hours late, with no report whether the pocketknife-carrying passenger was on it.

[Photo: Tim Anderson]