Two passengers onboard a KLM flight had to be constrained by fellow passengers after refusing to wear a mask after downing a liter of vodka. As pathetic as I found the whole encounter, in a very narrow sense I also found the drunken brawl on KLM ironically comforting.
Drunken Brawl On KLM Flight to Ibiza
It was Friday morning. KLM Flight 1495 took off from Amsterdam at 9:25AM CET. The Boeing 737-operated flight would take holidaymakers to Ibiza, an island in Spain known for its wild nightlife.
Two passengers onboard, allegedly from the United Kingdom, packed their own alcohol. KLM offers free beer and wine onboard, but not vodka, apparently. The passengers would not have been allowed through security and onboard without a mask, but at some point chose no longer to wear them. According to fellow passengers, they also downed a 1L bottle of vodka during the two-hour flight.
When flight attendants instructed them to place their masks on, they refused. They also refused to sit down and one hit another passenger. A fight erupted. You can watch the videos below:
“Stoppen nu, er zijn kinderen hiero!”Knokpartij op @klm vlucht naar Ibiza. Dronken passagier weigert mondkapje te dragen ✈️
Panic and violent brawl! Unruly passenger on board KLM flight,he refused to wear face mask 😷#incident #klm #avgeek #aviation #planespotting @KLM_press pic.twitter.com/RPM0g1Kqh9
— The Mic High Club Luchtvaart Podcast (@MicHighClub) August 2, 2020
Nieuwe exclusieve video! De Engelse vechtersbaas – die tijdens de hele vlucht @klm mensen lastig viel en flessen Gregus wodka had gedronken – werd afgevoerd door de @guardiacivil op Ibiza 🇪🇸 ✈️ #avgeek #avgeeks #klm #planespotting #aviation @KLM_press pic.twitter.com/yzGDo13bBK
— The Mic High Club Luchtvaart Podcast (@MicHighClub) August 2, 2020
The passengers were eventually restrained, one zip-tied, and the plane landed safety in Ibiza. Spanish authorities met the flight and arrested the two men.
A KLM spokesperson noted:
“Two unruly passengers refused to wear their face masks, and they were bothering their fellow passengers physically and verbally.
“The pilot informed the local authorities and upon arrival, both passengers were arrested. The flight safety was not compromised during the flight.”
Depends upon how you define flight safety…
CONCLUSION
In one sense, this story is comforting because it shows that travel is returning to normal in Europe. What could be more cliche than a drunken fight on a flight to Ibiza? I do not celebrate drunkenness or the flouting of regulations, but I had to smile…it seems that even the pandemic cannot stop certain predictable antics onboard leisure flights. Perhaps “thankfulness” is the wrong word, but I am somewhat comforted that there is nothing new under the sun.
(H/T: View From The Wing)
I agree. It’s along the same lines of the comfort that I take in knowing that “The Dude” is out there, takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners.
I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in that.
You didn’t need to tell the nationalities of the two morons. Most of the time when alcohol and fight is involved you can bet they are from the UK. I never understood why they drink so much. I used to take a very early flight out of Manchester and would make to the lounge around 4:30am. I was usually the only one drinking coffee as all others were already all over beer. Fascinating to say the least.
It was reported elsewhere that they were both Brits. It’s always the Brits causing problems in Europe (especially football matches and on planes). And I’m British so I apologize on their behalf.
You’ll do fookin nuttin mate
I would say this video is comforting because the crazy anti-maskers are not American Karens for a change! 😀
Normalcy is when the masked ball hysteria ends.
Agreed. Normalcy is when covidiots stop announcing their freedumb to infect other people.
No surprise they’re Brits, nor that Ibiza was the destination. Most Brits wouldn’t be seen dead in that ghastly dump.
They’re from Scotland if you listen to them not England.
Good to see that in-flight entertainment is improving.
“I do not celebrate drunkenness or the flouting of regulations”
Bulls***t. You do exactly that, frequently, and right here, just to line your own pockets, consequences be damned.
Hypocrite.
I’d ask the gentleman to watch his language.
Also, I have no idea how in your world covering a topic is the same thing as celebrating it…
These types of problems, are only going to get worse. I blame the airlines for serving alcohol onboard, as well as allowing passengers to consume alcohol onboard, that they bring on. Consuming alcohol lessens inhibitions, and makes some people violent. Common sense dictates that the cabin of an aircraft, should not function as a boxing ring. Also, pilots cannot pull over, and dial 911. If passengers are too edgy to fly without taking a drink, let them not fly. We heard the same dumb excuses when the airlines refused to prohibit smoking onboard commercial aircraft.