A group of British travelers was escorted off an easyJet plane by police after allegedly ignoring repeated warnings to stop vaping during a five-hour flight from Cyprus to England.
The incident happened aboard easyJet Flight EZY6610 from Larnaca to Birmingham on Sept. 16. The route takes a little over five hours.
Video filmed by passenger Annalise Galstaun, 31, shows three women and one man being told to leave the aircraft after it landed in Birmingham.
In the footage, an easyJet employee can be heard telling the group that police were waiting for them, before an officer calmly asks them to get off the plane.
The four eventually leave as the rest of the passengers wait.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:
Galstaun said the group had been vaping throughout the flight despite being warned several times by cabin crew. She claimed they tried to hide the devices between their legs while using them.
“They were warned a few times by easyJet staff but continued to vape on the sly throughout the five-hour journey,” she said.
According to Galstaun, nearby passengers also complained about the behavior.
By the time police arrived, patience on board was apparently wearing thin.
Galstaun said passengers were forced to wait another 20 to 25 minutes after landing while officers dealt with the group. Some children on the plane had also begun crying after the long trip.
She had little sympathy for the travelers responsible for the extra wait, blasting them for being unable to make it through the flight without vaping.
EasyJet confirmed that police met Flight EZY6610 when it arrived in Birmingham because of “a group of passengers behaving disruptively onboard.”
The airline said its cabin crews are trained to respond quickly when passenger behavior could affect safety and stressed that disruptive conduct is not tolerated.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority,” the airline said.
West Midlands Police also confirmed officers responded to a complaint about disruptive behavior and assisted airline staff in removing a passenger from the aircraft. Police did not announce any arrests or charges in the statement reported by local media.
For American travelers, the rules are familiar. Vaping is prohibited on commercial flights in the United States as well, and federal regulations ban passengers from using electronic cigarettes aboard aircraft.
In this case, what should have been the end of a long vacation flight turned into one last delay for everyone on board — all because, according to witnesses, a handful of passengers apparently could not wait until they were back on the ground.
How selfish and thoughtless of these rude dolts. They deserve to get kicked off!