- A man who was caught smoking in a toilet on a Ryanair flight was hauled off the plane by police.
- Ryanair confirmed the incident, which occurred on a flight from Spain to Manchester, UK.
A man was hauled off a Ryanair flight by police after he was caught smoking in the plane toilet by staff, the airline confirmed to Insider.
The Manchester Evening News first reported the story Wednesday, and posted video showing two police officers boarding the plane — which had flown from Palma in Mallorca, Spain to Manchester, England on Tuesday.
The video then shows the officers escorting a young man wearing a black cap, shorts, and flip-flops off the plane in front of other passengers, and walking him to a police car parked nearby.
"The crew of this flight from Palma to Manchester (30 May) called ahead for police assistance after a passenger was found smoking onboard," Ryanair told Insider in a statement.
"The passenger was removed from the aircraft by local police upon landing at Manchester Airport. This is now a matter for local police."
A passenger on the flight told the Manchester Evening News that flight attendants could "smell smoke coming from the toilet" around 20 minutes after takeoff, and after taking all his details the man was "named and shamed" to the whole plane.
"I was really pleased because they'd named and shamed the person. If you're willing to have a smoke and put 180 souls on board lives at risk, then you should be named and shamed."
The Ireland-based carrier is the largest airline in Europe and is famous for its ultra-low cost flights and bare bones service. In May 2023, it was voted as the second-worst major airline in Europe by consumer review site Which?