Ryanair passenger claiming to be ‘UN diplomat’ dragged off flight after aggressive outburst

19 March 2025, 17:47

Ryanair forcibly removed from a passenger from a flight for abusing cabin crew as they claimed to be a UN diplomate.

The airliner is launching private legal proceedings against the flight attendee, whose actions sparked a 40-minute delay on a flight from Lanzarote to Santiago de Compostela in January.

He faces three to 12-month prison sentence or a fine of six to 18 months’ salary.

The chaos reportedly started brewing when the man tried to sit in a different seat.

He grew vrbally abusive e verbally abusive and tried to claim “diplomatic immunity” when staff members asked to see his boarding card, The Telegraph reports.

Local authorities eventually chucked him off the plane.

Read more: British Airways pilot back in the skies after snorting drugs off woman's breasts before flight

Read more: Ryanair boss says Rachel Reeves ‘hasn’t a clue’ about delivering growth

The budget airline said it was lodged a private criminal prosecution in the Spanish courts over the “unnecessary disruption to 137 passengers”.

Footage from the scenes, which was captured by fellow passengers, shows the raging passenger being dragged off the flight by Guardia Civil officers.

A Ryanair spokesman said: “It is unacceptable that passengers, many of whom are on a family holiday, are suffering unnecessary delay as a result of one unruly passenger’s behaviour.

“Yet this was regrettably the case for passengers on this flight from Lanzarote to Santiago [de Compostela] in January, during which a disruptive passenger caused a departure delay due to his misconduct.”

Ryanair is cracking down in badly behaved passengers with a “zero-tolerance policy for passengers who disrupt flights”.

In January, the firm announced it is claiming €15,000 (£12,500) in damages against a passenger on a flight between Dublin and Lanzarote last year, claiming the customer disrupted the flight.

Ryanair contends the passenger's behaviour forced the flight to divert to Porto, where it was delayed overnight and caused 160 passengers to "face unnecessary disruption as well as losing a full day of their holiday".

The airline has described the passenger's behaviour as "inexcusable" and "completely unacceptable". It said the €15,000 figure comes from the cost of overnight accommodation, passenger expenses, and landing costs.

Announcing what the airline described as a "major clampdown", a spokesman said: "It is unacceptable that passengers - many of whom are heading away with family or friends to enjoy a relaxing summer holiday - are suffering unnecessary disruption and reduced holiday time as a result of one unruly passenger's behaviour."

The spokesman said Ryanair hopes the civil proceedings in the Irish circuit court will deter further disruptive behaviour on flights.