No arrests were made after Aer Lingus flight EI135 returned to Shannon Airport having been bound for Boston after a male passenger in his 50s became unruly and abusive towards the cabin crew.
The flight crew contacted the airline’s operations centre, who alerted local authorities, including the Gardaí in Shannon and authorities at Shannon Airport.
Upon landing back at Shannon Airport, the man disembarked the plane without incident and was met by Gardaí for questioning. Gardai also took statements from cabin crew. The man was not arrested and it was understood that a family member was due to travel to the airport to collect the man and take him home. The flight later resumed its journey to Boston. A Garda investigation into the incident will now take place.
Research by IATA suggests that 25pc of onboard incidents with disruptive passengers are related to alcohol. Worldwide, there was one incident reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one per 835 flights in 2021. According to the IAA the figure in Ireland is one incident for every 4,000 flights.
