Terrified passengers on an EasyJet flight from Turkey to Gatwick had to endure an emergency landing after claiming a teenage girl became enraged when she got into a fight with a ten-year-old boy over his cough.
Travelers on board the plane due to make an unscheduled stopover in Italy were said to have been “physically ill” and “fell into the toilet” when the 16-year-old allegedly threatened to stab cabin crew.
This meant that the EasyJet plane that flew from Antalya to Gatwick on Friday night was unable to land at the British airport and had to land in Bari.
Eyewitnesses claim the teenager used language such as “get out of my sight”, leaving other passengers crying and distraught, including the mother of the girl she had apparently lost her temper with.
Nadine, 39, from Reading, was on board the plane with her daughter Jernai, 19, when the carnage occurred and the couple described it as a “hell of a fight” that ruined their Christmas.
Speaking to the Sun, Nadine said: “We went to Türkiye for Christmas where we had a really wonderful holiday at a hotel called Aska Lara.
“We were all very calm and relaxed, but on the flight back home everything became hell. It’s ruined my Christmas.
“So this 16-year-old girl was about four rows behind me and she was sitting next to a girl about 10 years old who started coughing and I told her to stop.
Terrified Brits were forced to endure an emergency plane landing after a teenage girl became so angry “at a 10-year-old boy’s cough” that she “threatened to stab the cabin crew”.
The EasyJet plane was unable to land at the British airport and had to make a stopover in Bari, Italy, due to chaos on board.
Nadine, 39, from Reading (pictured) was on board the plane with her daughter Jernai, 19, when the massacre occurred and the couple described it as a “hell of a fight” which ruined their Christmas.
‘The girl went to the bathroom but the older girl followed her to the bathroom.
‘The girl kept having outbursts saying ‘get out of my sight’, and I wouldn’t let her go out.
“Then the mother fell and the teenager was screaming in her face.
“The mother and girl were crying, so the crew walked the girl and her mother to the front of the plane to get away from her.”
Nadine added that the teenager repeatedly “ignored requests from plane staff to return to her seat and instead shouted insults.”
The mother recalled: “She started shouting insults at the crew members and then stormed to the back of the plane.”
“She was trying to open the door and broke the handle. The crew members pulled her away and held her down.
“She was surrounded by all the crew members, but one tried to calm her down.
Her daughter Jernai (left), 19, is reportedly afraid to leave again because she has been traumatized by the experience.
Nadine said the 16-year-old “started screaming on the plane and threatened to stab a crew member.”
“She started screaming on the plane and threatened to stab a crew member.
‘All of this was happening in the middle of the plane while they were trying to get her away from the door.
“I was in the front and she came running across the plane and I saw her running across the plane.”
A woman reportedly “fell into the bathroom” as a result of the outburst after the teen went flying toward the bathroom door.
Nadine said: ‘She went flying towards the bathroom door, but someone was coming out of the bathroom.
“She fell on top of the woman who fell into the bathroom and the pilot door flew open.”
‘At one point he took off his shoes and threw them at the passengers. Everyone was very nervous.
‘People started to get angry and get up. They finally got the girl to sit down.
The plane was due to land at London Gatwick (pictured) but had to land at Bari airport in Italy.
“But for safety reasons, the pilot had to announce that we were making an emergency landing and lowered the plane.
“The girl was flying with her mother and grandmother.”
Nadine also told the Sun she was angry at Easyjet for not apologizing after they ordered everyone off the plane at Bari airport and showed them to their hotel rooms.
She said: ‘It was absolute hell. Easyjet didn’t care about us on the plane. They left us without water.
“The pilot was tired and said he had to land for safety reasons because a passenger violated security.
‘They asked us to go to the airport and when we landed, there were firefighters, maintenance and police.
‘The police began collecting statements. The girl who caused the scene was arrested.
‘You can imagine how disturbing it all was. It was just me and my daughter, I was crying.’
Nadine and Jernai had been on vacation in Antalya but unfortunately the experience on the plane ruined their memory.
Nadine then recounted how she was physically ill in the hotel room.
She said: ‘When we arrived at the hotel in Bari, we were horrified.
‘When we turned on the tap, the water was misty and we hadn’t had a drink for hours.
‘I walked in and felt dizzy on the floor. We had two single beds, the sheets were dirty.
‘It was very cold in the room and there was only one small radiator that didn’t even work.
‘Don’t get me started on the bathroom with all the mold on the floor. The door didn’t even lock. In the house next door there was a baby crying.
‘The next morning I saw the hotel lit up. What rubbish! There were broken windows and piled up rubbish.’
‘Easyjet has not apologized. There has been no compensation.
‘My daughter Jernai is 19 years old and she is afraid to leave again. The experience has traumatized her.
‘It ruined my Christmas. We arrived at 12:50 a.m. and I collapsed in my own bed.
“I’m sick because it was very cold in the room. I suffer from asthma and COPD and I can’t go out to enjoy the rest of my Christmas.
‘My whole family returned to the Caribbean and I couldn’t see them because I was too sick.
‘It was nothing but stress, I had a headache, I feel really relieved to be home. I have never felt so happy to be home.
“I don’t think I’ll go on vacation for at least a year after this, because it scared me so much.”
He stated that he had sent an email to Easyjet but had not yet received a response.
Easyjet told The Sun: ‘Flight EZY8556 from Antalya to London Gatwick on December 27 was diverted to Bari.
“Police encountered him because a passenger behaved in a disruptive manner on board.
‘EasyJet cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and acted quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers was not compromised at any time.
‘Although these incidents are rare, we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behavior on board.
‘As this made the crew feel unable to operate, the flight was delayed overnight and scheduled to operate the next day.
‘The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s priority.
“While this was out of our control, we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
‘We did everything we could to minimize the impact of the diversion, providing hotel accommodation and meals.
“We have informed customers that we will refund any costs incurred.”