Jet2 flight erupts into chaos as passengers banned for life after 'screaming brawl'

Cabin crew desperately tried to intervene in the mess, as fists flew in the rapid chaos on board flight LS896.

Two passengers involved in the violence were escorted from the packed plane by police after it landed in Brussels.

Jet2 described their behaviour as “appalling” and said they would be banned for life.

One shell-shocked passenger said the on board altercation began over an alleged “racist comment” and escalated.

The shaken eye-witness wrote online: “I have just got home from an awful flight and am still shaken up, as are many other passengers.

“What should have been a straightforward journey turned into one of the most distressing experiences we’ve had.

“From early on in the flight, a passenger seated behind us began making racist remarks, quiet enough that others couldn’t clearly hear, but loud enough for us to.

“We chose to ignore it at first. But it didn’t stop. It escalated.

“Although he had been drinking on the flight, he was fully aware of his surroundings, knew exactly what he was saying, and was orientated throughout.

“We were thousands of feet in the air and the situation kept escalating.”

The healthcare worker said the passenger turned aggressive to cabin crew after he was unable to purchase cigarettes.

The eye-witness added: “He became confrontational, intimidating, and openly racist towards the Pakistani passengers around him.

“The flight attendants repeatedly tried to calm the situation, but he continued to be hostile and aggressive.

“There were children, elderly passengers, and individuals with additional needs on that plane.

The flight later took off from Brussels and landed back in Manchester shortly after 10pm.

A Jet2 spokesman said: “Flight LS896 from Antalya to Manchester diverted to Brussels yesterday, due to the appalling behaviour of two disruptive passengers.

“They were both offloaded by police in Brussels and the flight continued to Manchester.

“We can confirm that the two disruptive passengers will be banned from flying with us for life.

“We will also vigorously pursue them to recover the costs that we incurred as a result of this diversion.

“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.”