Ryanair flight forced to U-turn mid-air after passenger 'tries to open emergency exit door'

One witness alleged that those onboard the flight had attempted to prevent the woman from opening the emergency door and quickly alerted the cabin crew.

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The errant flyer was then taken away from the emergency row - and the captain remained beside the exit for the duration of the flight.

According to flight tracking service FlightRadar24, the plane initially took off from Manchester Airport's Terminal 3 slightly late at 9.19am.

Following the disruption, the flight was forced to be diverted and landed back at the same airport at around 10.09am.

Shortly afterwards, Greater Manchester Police escorted the unruly passenger off the plane.

As the plane remained on the tarmac, engineers came aboard to examine potential damage after the woman allegedly managed to remove the plastic covering from the emergency door.

Engineers were forced to carry out repairs on the damaged exit before the plane was allowed to depart again.

The Ryanair flight restarted its journey towards the north African country at 11.22am.

The plane landed at Agadir's Al Massira Airport at 3.33pm with no further incidents reported.

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Greater Manchester Police later confirmed that the woman had been arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.

A spokesman for the force said: "Her disruptive behaviour led to her being restrained by crew, and the flight was forced to return to Manchester so she could be removed.

"Disruptive behaviour on board any flight is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

"Officers will always take action to ensure the safety of passengers and crew."

Footage of the incident later emerged showing Greater Manchester Police officers removing items from the overhead lockers as the passenger was taken off the plane and escorted onto the tarmac.

A Ryanair spokesman said: "This flight from Manchester to Agadir diverted to back to Manchester shortly after take-off after a passenger became disruptive onboard.

"Crew called ahead for police assistance, who met the aircraft upon landing at Manchester Airport and offloaded this passenger before this flight continued to Agadir.

"Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour, ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a safe and respectful environment, without unnecessary disruption."