Jet2, an airline in the UK, has sent an £85,000 (about R1.5 million) bill to a woman who tried to open an airplane’s cabin doors mid-flight and issued her with a lifetime ban.
As a result of her dangerous behaviour, the flight was diverted and the Royal Airforce (RAF) had to respond quickly and get two Typhoon fighters into the air to escort the aircraft.
Chloe Haines, a 25-year-old passenger, became ‘extremely disruptive’ on the flight on 22 June, according to a statement posted on Jet2’s website. Her ‘aggressive, abusive and dangerous behaviour on the aircraft’ included her attempt to open the aircraft doors during the flight between London’s Stansted Airport and Dalaman in Turkey.
‘Miss Haines’ behaviour was one of the most serious cases of disruptive passenger behaviour that we have experienced,’ said Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com. Image: Riik@mctr/ Flikr
The crew were forced to restrain Haines and she was arrested when the plane landed back at Stansted. According to some media reports, a witness said that a crew member had to sit on her to restrain her and she shouted, ‘Get off me, I’m going to kill everyone!’
Steve Heapy, the chief executive of Jet2.com, said, ‘Miss Haines’ behaviour was one of the most serious cases of disruptive passenger behavior that we have experienced. She must now face up to the consequences of her actions, and we will vigorously pursue to recover the costs that we incurred as a result of this divert, as we do with all disruptive passengers.
‘As a family-friendly airline, we take an absolutely zero-tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour, and we hope that this sobering incident, with its very serious consequences, provides a stark warning to others who think that they can behave in this fashion.’
She won’t be doing that again in a hurry. #Airrage passenger is slapped with £85,000 airline bill by #Jet2 https://t.co/71oL5cX0DD #chloehaines
— Tim (@LHRPhotos) July 17, 2019
Amy Varol, who sat two rows behind Haines on the airplane, told The Sun Online, ‘The woman was walking down the aisle when she literally ran to the exit door. She had her hands on the handle trying to open it. Luckily there were two cabin crew there who pulled her off the door.’
According to Britain’s Newsweek, ‘Police said operators received a slew of calls about a suspected explosion, explaining the noise had been the jets breaking the sound barrier as they rushed to attend to the incident.’
Image: Riik@mctr/ Flikr
