Verbally abusive Ryanair passenger who claimed to be UN diplomat faces criminal case from airline

Ryanair has launched a criminal case against a passenger who claimed to be a UN diplomat whilst verbally abusing cabin crew on a flight to Spain.

The incident happened on 17 January on Ryanair flight FR2001 which was about to depart from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands to Santiago de Compostela on the Spanish mainland.

Once on the plane, the passenger, who claimed to be a UN diplomat with “diplomatic immunity”, attempted to take a seat not assigned to him.

When the crew asked to see his boarding card, the passenger became verbally abusive and in the end had to be forcibly removed from the flight by the Guardia Civil, the Spanish police force.

Video footage from inside the cabin shows the man being wrestled from his seat by four police officers as frustrated passengers look on.

The passenger’s “inexcusable behaviour” caused a 40-minute departure delay and “unnecessary disruption” to the 137 passengers onboard, the Irish budget carrier said on Wednesday.

Just over two months on from the incident, Ryanair said it has initiated a private criminal prosecution through the Spanish courts against the passenger after he disrupted the flight.

Ryanair maintains it has a strict zero-tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct, with the filing of the criminal case part of a major clampdown on such incidents on its flights.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: “It is unacceptable that passengers, many of whom are on a family holiday, are suffering unnecessary delay as a result of one unruly passenger’s behaviour.

“Yet this was regrettably the case for passengers on this flight from Lanzarote to Santiago in January, during which a disruptive passenger caused a departure delay due to his misconduct.

“We have initiated a private criminal prosecution against this passenger, in which the court may impose a sentence of 3-12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of 6-18 months’ salary.

“These are just some of the potential consequences under Ryanair’s zero-tolerance policy for passengers who disrupt flights.

“We hope this example will deter further disruptive behaviour on Ryanair flights so that passengers and crew can travel in a comfortable and respectful environment as is their right.”

The airline is no stranger to taking legal action against its passengers whose behaviour leads to disruption on a flight.

In January, Ryanair said it was claiming €15,000 (£12,500) in damages against a disruptive passenger after their “inexcusable behaviour” forced a flight to divert.

The flight, from Dublin to Lanzarote was forced to divert to Porto, Portugal in April 2024 due to an unruly passenger in the cabin.

According to Ryanair, 160 passengers were delayed overnight and lost a full day of their holiday. The airline filed legal proceedings in the Irish Circuit Court against the passenger to “recover the costs” of overnight accommodation, passenger expenses and landing fees.

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast