Passenger Tasered on flight after intense argument about his hand luggage
EasyJet has recently changed its hand luggage policy, politely informing Standard Economy passengers that they may not be allowed to keep their carry-ons in the cabin with them during flight. One customer apparently missed that memo and fought with easyJet's flight crew so aggressively that he had to be Tasered just before takeoff. And, making the situation even worse, he earned himself 50,000 volts because of an argument over his hand luggage.
The incident occurred onboard easyJet Flight EZY831, which was scheduled to leave London's Gatwick Airport for Belfast at 8 a.m. on Thursday. According to reports from other passengers, the man had attempted to bring two pieces of luggage (including his hand luggage) onto the flight and became abusive toward the crew members who told him that wasn't possible. The police were called to the scene and, after attempts to calm him down were unsuccessful, he was Tasered and "dragged off" the plane, according to witnesses.
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A Sussex Police spokesperson told The Telegraph:
"A man is in police custody after being tasered on an aircraft waiting to depart from Gatwick Airport to Belfast on Thursday morning. Police officers were called to the EasyJet flight shortly after 8am to reports of a passenger who was becoming increasingly abusive following a dispute over luggage."
The man was arrested on suspicion of breach of the peace. The remaining passengers were forced to deplane and had to stare dejectedly at their own hand luggage while they waited out a three hour delay. The flight eventually took off for Northern Ireland just before 11 a.m., according to the BBC.
In a statement sent to Road Warrior Voices, an easyJet spokesperson said
"EasyJet can confirm that police boarded flight EZY831 from London Gatwick to Belfast on 20 August due to a passenger behaving disruptively. EasyJet’s cabin crew are highly trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time. Whilst such incidents are rarem we take them very seriously, do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour onboard and always push for prosecution. The safety and well-being of passengers and crew is always easyJet's priority."
Now we just hope that guy's friends will refer to "that time he was Tasered over his luggage" for the next 15 or 20 years.