Jet2 hands passengers life ban after mid-air brawl

Jet2 has banned two passengers from the airline for life after a mid-air brawl on a holiday flight from Turkey.

The company said flight LS896 heading to Manchester from Antalya had to make an emergency landing in Brussels due to the "appalling behaviour of two disruptive passengers".

The passengers were seen in footage shared on social media shouting and brawling in the aisle as fellow travellers and cabin staff tried to separate them.

The two men were arrested by Belgian police before the flight carried on to Manchester just after 22:00 GMT on 12 February. An investigation into intentional assault and battery is ongoing.

Jet2 said it would "vigorously" pursue the cost of the disruption and diversion from the two passengers.

A spokesperson said: "As a family-friendly airline we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behaviour and we are very sorry that other customers and our colleagues onboard had to experience this too."

Belgian authorities have confirmed the men have since been allowed to carry on their journey - after being "briefly deprived of their freedom administratively", as they were "still drunk".

The identities, photos and fingerprints of the men were taken and an official report has been drawn up for intentional assault and battery, the Halle-Vilvoorde public prosecutor's office said.

"The investigation into the facts is ongoing and the public prosecutor's office will take appropriate action," the office said.

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