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Two disruptive passengers who caused chaos onboard a Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Ibiza have been convicted by a French court after forcing the plane to divert mid-journey.

 

The incident happened on flight FR9251 on May 17 last year when two passengers reportedly became abusive towards fellow travellers and refused to follow instructions from cabin crew.

 

With the situation escalating onboard, the aircraft was ultimately forced to divert to Toulouse, disrupting the journeys of 184 passengers and six crew members.

 

Ryanair confirmed on Thursday May 7 that the Toulouse Criminal Court has now found both passengers guilty. Between them, they received suspended prison sentences of up to 10 months along with financial penalties totalling more than €10,000.

 

The airline welcomed the ruling and said it demonstrated the serious consequences disruptive passengers can face.

 

“We welcome this decision by the Toulouse Criminal Court to convict these two disruptive passengers and sentence them with up to 10 months jail time and to pay a penalty of over €10,000,” Ryanair’s Jade Kirwan said.

 

“It is unacceptable that passengers – many of whom are heading away with family or friends to enjoy a relaxing summer holiday – suffer unnecessary disruption and reduced holiday time as a result of unruly passenger behaviour.”

 

“Yet this was regrettably the case for passengers on this flight from Stansted to Ibiza in May last year, which was forced to divert to Toulouse as a result of two passenger’s disruptive behaviour.”

 

The airline says it continues to enforce a strict zero tolerance policy against misconduct onboard and insists it will keep pursuing action against disruptive passengers.

 

Ms Kirwan added: “This conviction demonstrates just one of the many consequences that passengers who disrupt flights will face as part of Ryanair’s zero tolerance policy, and we hope this action will deter further disruptive behaviour on flights so that passengers and crew can travel in a comfortable and respectful environment.”

 

The case comes as airlines across Europe continue to report problems involving disruptive behaviour on flights, and Ryanair in particular has been putting pressure on the European authorities to limit alcohol at airports.

 

Image: Ryanair