Bumpy landing: Drunken British passenger forces emergency touch down by 'stealing drinks'



A charter flight heading from Cancun to Manchester was forced to make an unplanned stop in Canada after a drunken British passenger caused havoc at high altitude.

The Thomson Airways plane was en route to Britain from the popular Mexican holiday resort when it was forced to touch down in Halifax, Nova Scotia, by a holidaymaker's 'unruly' behaviour.

Reports suggest that the 42-year-old man was so worse for wear that he had begun trying to steal alcohol from other passengers after being refused any further drinks by airline staff.



'Troublemaker': The Thomson Airways plane was forced to touch down in Canada after the 42-year-old holidaymaker became 'unruly' at 42,000ft

Passengers also reported that the man had taken to sitting on the laps of other holidaymakers while attempting to take drinks from their tray tables.



After an argument with other tourists he was pushed to the floor and had to be restrained by the crew, witnesses added.



The man was escorted from the Boeing 767 by officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police - the Mounties.



The passengers had to spend the night in hotels on Tuesday night, but continued on their journey the following morning.



Constable Tammy Lobb, from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said: 'The pilot requested a diversion to Halifax Stanfield International Airport due to an unruly passenger.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police met the flight and a 42-year-old passenger from the UK was removed from the aircraft.



'After further investigation, no charges were brought against him. There were no injuries to other passengers. However, because of the pilot's flying hours the passengers had to be processed by the Canadian Border Service Agency and accommodated in hotels overnight.'



Holiday nightmare: The flight was headed to sun-seekers' paradise Cancun in Mexico, pictured, when the passenger allegedly got into rows with other tourists and had to be restrained

Delayed: The passengers travelling from Manchester, pictured, were forced to spend a night in Canada after the unscheduled landing

The passengers on Thomson Airways flight TOM122 continued their journey the next morning.



A spokeswoman for Thomson Airways said: 'Accommodation was arranged for the customers on board. They departed for Cancun the following day and have now arrived to begin their holidays.



'The passenger will be escorted on to a flight from Halifax by Canadian officials. It is anticipated that he will be met by police upon his arrival in the UK.



'Customer and crew safety is of paramount importance to Thomson Airways. Our cabin crew are trained to defuse difficult situations such as these as quickly and effectively as possible.



'We have a zero tolerance policy on disruptive or aggressive behaviour on board our aircraft. Thomson Airways can only apologise to customers affected by this delay.'









