Police met the Jet2 aircraft after it landed in Bodrum, Turkey and Lily Ifield and her daughter, who had boarded the plane at Stansted Airport, were escorted off the aircraft
A grandmother who refused to pay £9 for a tuna sandwich – allegedly still frozen – on a Jet2 flight was escorted off the plane by armed police.
Lily Ifield, 79, and her daughter were accused of “unacceptable” behaviour and warned they could be blacklisted by all UK airlines after complaining about the sarnie, it is understood. However, Lily believes the bap served on the flight from London Stansted Airport to Bodrum, Turkey, was inedible, “soggy” and “cold”.
Cabin crew allegedly retorted “this isn’t a restaurant – it’s a plane” and called for officers armed with guns and batons to escort the passenger from the plane in Bodrum on Sunday November 3. Lily, who is a retired secretary, said the experience ruined her holiday, a four-day break to celebrate a family member’s birthday.
“The police were standing at the entrance to the plane, waiting with guns like we were master criminals. We had no idea what we had done. I was turning round to people, saying ‘I think I’ve been arrested over a sandwich,'” the gran of one said.
“The steward said, ‘will you shut up’ he said, ‘I don’t want you talking’. I said ‘excuse me, I can talk as much as I like’. We were being treated like convicts over a bap.”
Jet2 says passengers exhibited “disruptive and unpleasant behaviour” on the plane and so cabin crew had to call police. However, after allegedly frogmarching Lily and her daughter through the airport, officers eventualy dropped the case – after realising “how stupid the argument was”.
Lily, who lives alone in Ware, Hertfordshire, continued: “We were so upset we just stayed in our room for four days. We felt sick with worry. It ruined our holiday. All over a flipping tuna sandwich. No-one would have eaten that.”
The mother and daughter, who are nervous fliers, shared four mini bottles of wine on the flight to calm their anxiety – spending £50 before refusing to pay for the tuna sandwich, reports The Sun. Lily denies the airline’s claims she and her daughter smuggled alcohol on board. The Mirror has contacted Jet2 for more information about these claims and comment on Lily’s complaint.
A spokeswoman for the airline told The Sun: “We can confirm that these customers displayed continued disruptive and unpleasant behaviour on board flight LS1609 from London Stansted to Bodrum, including the illicit consumption of alcohol that had been purchased in duty free and brought on board.
“As a result, police met the aircraft on arrival at Bodrum to escort Mrs Ifield and her daughter off the aircraft. As a family-friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to such behaviour, and we make it very clear that customers cannot consume their own alcohol on flights.
“We will always support our crew in instances when they are subjected to disruptive, rude or unpleasant behaviour while prioritising the comfort of all customers and crew so that they can enjoy their flight.”
