A dramatic incident unfolded when an easyJet captain urgently requested a topless passenger to sit down and wait for the police after an emergency landing in Athens due to the disruption. Allegedly intoxicated, the passenger had been arguing with fellow travelers before being removed from the flight from Turkey to London Gatwick on Tuesday.
Cabin crew and another passenger attempted to calm the situation, with shouts of protest audible in the background. Over the speaker, the captain announced, “To the people who are fighting, the police are waiting for us at the gate. You are only making things worse for yourself. Please sit down.”
Passengers were visibly annoyed by the delay, with one woman shouting at the disruptive man, “You’ve messed us all up, you silly fool.” Staff tried to dress the man as he shuffled down the aisle, meeting another passenger halfway. A passenger in a black t-shirt and headphones also tried to de-escalate the situation.
Staff guided the topless man backwards, pointing along the aisle. Despite the captain’s warning, the man moved forward, receiving more abuse from an adversary in a white jacket. The man in white sarcastically applauded the captain’s announcement before being escorted back to his seat by a steward.
Frustration among passengers grew, with many shouting at those causing the delays. A caption on the original TikTok video read, “Flight back from Turkey gets diverted to Athens because boys can’t handle their drink.” In the background, a woman shouted again, “You’re a bully.”
Eventually, the topless man complied and walked towards the back of the plane with a steward. The clip, shared on social media, was captioned, “Flying back to Gatwick from Antalya, plane gets diverted to Athens because of the topless guy. The other guy gets involved and ends up getting booted off as well. Big shout out to the flight attendants, who did amazing.”
Viewers shared their thoughts and frustrations. One commented, “Hope easyJet billed them thousands for the diversion for all the money they lost.” Another added, “It’s only a matter of time before they ban drinking because of people like these who can’t handle their drink. Jail them and they may think twice.”
Others suggested lifetime bans for such behavior, with one saying, “Once you’ve done that with Ryanair and easyJet, you have a lot fewer options when going on holiday.” Another remarked, “Why do Brits revolve their life around drink, drink, drink? This is what ends up happening. I’m not generalizing, but this is why alcohol is not the way.”
A spokesperson for easyJet stated, “Flight EZY8558 from Antalya to London Gatwick on 1 October diverted to Athens and was met by police after landing due to two passengers behaving disruptively onboard. easyJet’s cabin crew are 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 rare, we take them very seriously and do not tolerate disruptive behavior onboard. The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority.”