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A holidaymaker was today grappled into a headlock and violently marched off a Ryanair flight by police after a Luton to Lanzarote flight was diverted to Portugal because of his behaviour.
The man, thought to be British, was forcibly removed from the plane by a dozen Portuguese police officers as other passengers watched in astonishment.
A fellow passenger who filmed the shocking scenes at Faro airport told MailOnline: ‘There was a group of men who appeared to have been drinking who were bothering some female passengers.
‘When it started to get a bit out of hand one of the stewards tried to intercede and ended up getting knocked over.
‘At this point the captain gave a warning over the tannoy that unacceptable behaviour would not be tolerated and if it did not stop we would divert to Portugal.
This is the shocking moment a holidaymaker was grappled into a headlock and violently marched off a Ryanair flight by police after a Luton to Lanzarote flight was diverted to Portugal because of his behaviour
The man was seen in a video filmed inside the cabin being dragged down the aisle by officers
‘But the commotion didn’t let up and 20 minutes later we were told we are landing in twenty minutes with no further information.
‘The man fighting in the video originally got off voluntarily but for some reason got back on the plane and was then forcibly removed by the police who put him in a headlock.
‘This man was one of several who were removed,’ the passenger said.
‘It was quite shocking to see. We are all a bit shaken.’
Footage filmed inside the cabin showed several passengers with their phones out, watching in astonishment as the police dragged the man down the aisle.
The man is seen struggling against the officers, prompting them to put him in a headlock in an attempt to subdue him.
Another officer is seen holding his arm ahead of him, dragging him to the exit.
After being dragged off the plane, the man was filmed being taken away by local police
Some of the passengers can be heard encouraging the officers and even cheering and clapping in the man’s face, clearly eager for the disorderly man to be taken off the plane as quickly as possible.
‘Bye bye mate!’ one man is heard shouting. A woman shouts ‘Well done!’
Separate video out of the passenger window of the aircraft showed the man being marched by the group of police officers over the tarmac.
He appeared to be resisting before being bundled into a police car.
Another clip showed the larger group of people also standing on the tarmac having also been removed from the plane.
The Ryanair plane was heading from the UK to the Canary Islands when it was diverted. There has not yet been any official comment from authorities in Portugal but one well-placed insider said all involved in the incident were British.
Pictured: The diverted plane is seen on the tarmac in Portugal
The plane left London‘s Luton airport at 8am and was due to reach Lanzarote at 12.15pm local time today.
However, it was diverted to Portugal airport instead and landed at Faro in Portugal’s Algarve region at around 10.50am local time, with police boarding shortly after.
An email was dispatched to passengers on the flight which read: ‘We apologise that your flight, FR3511, from London Luton to Lanzarote on the 19-01-2024 was unexpectedly diverted to Faro.
‘When we are forced to divert a flight, we immediately begin planning your onward journey from the airport you are diverted to. If your flight is diverted and is scheduled to continue from there, we will work to keep this delay as minimal as possible.’
In a statement to MailOnline Ryanair said: ‘This flight from London Luton to Lanzarote diverted to Faro when passengers became disruptive onboard.
‘Crew called ahead for police assistance and the aircraft was met by local police upon arrival who removed the disruptive passengers. The flight continued to Lanzarote following a short delay. This is now a matter for local police.’