'Drunk' passenger brawls with cops after 'lovers' tiff' on UK flight
A drunk passenger punched a police officer in the face in a brawl aboard a UK flight to Mallorca that was kicked off by a 'lovers' tiff'.
Passengers were left frightened as the drunkard clashed with multiple Spanish guards who boarded the plane to remove him last Tuesday.
Ritchie Denholm, 40, watched through his phone's camera in shock as he recorded the moment the rowdy man hit one of the officers in the face.
He said that a man and a woman had boarded the plane and were already extremely 'drunk' as they sat at the front of the aircraft on the Ryanair flight from Edinburgh Airport to Palma de Mallorca Airport.
Footage from Mr Denholm shows after the man punches the officer, they quickly subdue him and appear to beat him down several times behind the row of seats.
Footage captured the moment when a drunk passenger punched a Spanish police officer in the face on a Ryanair flight from Edinburgh to Mallorca
The officers quickly react as the video shows three of them hold the man down
'They were very drunk before leaving Edinburgh, lovers' tiff and it all started,' Mr Denholm, from Edinburgh, told NeedToKnow.
'The crew intervened until landing, then when they found out they're getting arrested they started again.
'Some passengers were scared and shocked.'
Footage shows the Spanish officers making their way towards the rowdy pair at the front of the plane, with others coming further down to the back, seemingly making sure the plane is secure.
As things start to kick off and the man grapples with the cops and punches one in the face, the guards leap into action - one strides over from the back while the group at the front work to detain the man.
The video cuts to what looks like three officers holding the drunk man down. Meanwhile one officer appears to be on top of the man, beating him with his fists below the seat, while another behind him hits him with a baton.
Ritchie said: 'If I'm honest they should've been battered more.
'No one should put anyone at risk on a flight considering things that have happened on flights in the past.
'There should be more security on flights to stop anyone intoxicated getting on.'
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary recently called for a banning of early morning pre-flight pints being served at airports, precisely because of brawls like these.
The airline boss said that his planes are now having to be diverted almost daily because of drunken and aggressive passengers, and the problem is getting worse.
He previously said: 'I fail to understand why anybody in airport bars is serving people at five or six o'clock in the morning. Who needs to be drinking beer at that time?'
One of the officers is seen to sit ontop of the rowdy passenger and beat him while others hold him down. One guard behind him appears to hit him with a baton
He added: 'There should be no alcohol served at airports outside [those] licensing hours.'
Mr O'Leary said flights to party destinations from Britain like Mallorca, Ibiza, Alicante and Tenerife have been particularly problematic.
However, this was met with rebuttal by Wetherspoons chief Sir Tim Martin, whose pubs have a large presence in UK airports.
He argued that the pub chain - which has eight locations in UK airports - makes most of its money from food, soft drinks, tea and coffee sales rather than alcohol.
Airport Wetherspoon pubs are 'highly supervised' and have policies to stop excessive drinking too, Sir Tim said.
It's passengers coming in from other airports where 'controls are perhaps less' which make the problem worse, Sir Tim said, adding that this was a view 'shared by Mr O'Leary'.
Ryanair has been approached for a comment.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
