A holidaymaker who boarded an Iberia Express flight released an emergency slide after discovering that the plane would not be taking off straight away, and was later arrested by police
A furious passenger released an emergency slide and accused an airline of “kidnapping” him after the plane refused to take off.
Holidaymakers were forced to sit on the runway for half an hour before being cleared to fly from Ibiza to Madrid earlier this week. But one passenger kicked off after discovering the engines had been turned off to refuel.
The man, who was on the Iberia Express flight IB1696, had to sit in scorching heat as temperatures mounted inside the cabin. The flight was meant to take off at 1.30pm on Wednesday. After hearing about the delays, the man began to display extreme signs of nervousness.
One eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “People started to get very nervous in general.” When the pilot was preparing to take-off after the delay, the passenger reportedly jumped to his feet and shouted that he “couldn’t stand it” any longer and wanted to ‘disembark’.
The cabin crew refused and he allegedly accused them of carrying out a “full-fledged kidnapping.” Faced with growing tensions in the cabin, flight attendants decided to call the cops. When Civil Guard officers came to arrest the man, he reportedly activated the evacuation slide.
His actions not only increased the panic inside the cabin, but also resulted in the plane being evacuated. The eyewitness, who was making a stopover in Madrid before flying on to Alicante, said: “Then the pilot told us that the plane was stuck and we couldn’t leave. At the moment, it has been very difficult for all of us, there are people here who missed their connection to other flights.
“For example, there is one passenger travelling to Colombia and another going to South Africa. In their case, they will have to sleep in a hotel in Madrid tonight and they still don’t know if it will be paid for by the airline or out of their own pocket. The airline, however, has been very good. They have given us vouchers to eat at the airport and an information sheet explaining our rights and how to make a claim.”
After the incident, the passengers had to leave the aircraft and go to the Iberia Express counter to be booked on another flight. The suspect was placed under arrest and faces charges of disturbing the peace and damaging the aircraft. He is expected to receive a hefty fine for his alleged conduct
Iberia Express has been approached for comment.