A passenger who flouted airline safety rules yesterday by smoking on a flight from the UK to Tenerife faces serious consequences.
The afternoon flight was met on landing at the island’s south airport after the pilot radioed a request for a police presence to deal with the unnamed passenger, who had caused a serious incident on board by refusing to obey the strict non-smoking rule and caused a heated argument with crew on board.
Details of the incident on the Ryanair service from Manchester emerged when Spanish airport traffic controllers posted a message of support to the airline and its crew as the Boeing 737-800 was touching down at Tenerife South.
It is not known what action the person faces but previous similar incidents affecting the airline have produced serious consequences for culprits. Ryanair is well-known for pursuing a strict no-tolerance policy to deal with passengers who flout the rules and recent actions have seen a court in Malta rule in favour of the airline’s policy and fine a passenger 2000 euros for a similar offence on a flight in late March.
The airline is also believed to be pursuing damages in the case of a disruptive passenger who delayed the take-off of a flight from Lanzarote to Santiago de Compostela and had to be removed by police. In addition to court outcomes, other tools in the disciplinary arsenal of airlines in their bids to deal with passenger misconduct include travel bans.
Photo: Ryanair plane at Tenerife South Airport
