The man, who was born in Setúbal, was said to have boarded the plane with a hostile attitude and signs of drunkenness.
A 50-year-old Portuguese man was arrested on Friday morning for having adopted a “very, very, very violent attitude” on board a Ryanair flight from London Stansted Airport in the UK to Lisbon. The aircraft had to make an emergency landing at Vigo Airport in Spain, following a request from the captain.
The man, from Setúbal, had boarded the Irish airline’s flight FR1080 with a hostile attitude and signs of drunkenness, after having bought and consumed several bottles of alcohol in the duty-free stores in the British terminal, according to La Voz de Galicia.
The same media outlet said that the Portuguese man punched the seat in front of him several times, forcing the passengers to leave their seats for fear of being hit. The man from Setubal was also seen confronting the aircraft’s captain.
Despite the efforts of the crew, who were trying to calm him down, the man became progressively more violent, so the captain decided to request an emergency landing in Vigo.
Once in Spain, Guardia Civil agents carried out the forced disembarkation of the Portuguese man and were given a standing ovation by the passengers. The crew also received a standing ovation.
The flight made its way to Lisbon at 10.32 a.m. and the man was released in the late afternoon.