Yesterday, passengers on an easyJet flight from Luton, England to Glasgow, Scotland leaped into action after a 41-year-old man came out of the rear lavatory shouting, “I’ve got a bomb, death to America, death to Trump, Allahu Akbar.” See video embedded below.
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A passenger who wished not to be named told the UK’s The Sun, “He literally came out of the toilet shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ with his hands above his head. Then he said, ‘I’ve got a bomb, I’ve got a bomb’ — at this point people were confused. I thought he was joking. I mean, it’s a weird joke.”
He then allegedly pushed the flight attendants “and was being aggressive towards them. He was a big guy, about six foot, and they were these petite women.”
A passenger recounted how three travelers tackled and restrained the man while he filmed the chaos. Flight attendants climbed over seats to check the suspect’s bag and confirmed there was no bomb. The pilot announced an emergency landing and descended quickly, with the men holding the suspect down through landing.
“The flight attendants, all women, were shaken but incredibly professional,” the witness said, noting that some passengers were in tears. They retrieved the man’s wallet and found what appeared to be a refugee status card identifying him as an Indian national. The plane landed safely in Glasgow and came to a sudden stop on a remote part of the runway.
The Sun reports, “Fire engines then swarmed the scene before six police officers came on board the plane from the back.” The witness explained, “The main copper didn’t f*** around. He said, ‘Look, don’t mess about or you’ll go straight down.’ By this point, the guy had calmed down. He’d admitted he didn’t have a bomb. He gave up.”
The man was arrested, and an easyJet spokesperson confirmed the incident in a statement: “Flight EZY609 from Luton to Glasgow this morning was met by police on arrival in Glasgow, where they boarded the aircraft and removed a passenger due to their behaviour onboard. easyJet’s crew are trained to assess all situations and act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other customers is not compromised at any time.”
Comments on social ranged from: “The man who tackled him deserves one free flight a year for life” to “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday.”
