Emergency landing for Jet2 flight to Tenerife as passenger urinates in the cabin

A passenger on a Jet2 flight to Tenerife from Glasgow has been banned for life by the airline after causing a “scuffle” on board the plane, abusing other passengers, before urinating in the plane's cabin resulting in it being diverted to Faro in Portugal to make an unscheduled stop for him to be detained.

55-year-old Eric Forrest has been banned for life from flying with Jet2, who are also threatening to sue him for costs incurred after "seriously disturbing" the order on a flight from Glasgow to Tenerife South.

According to the airline "He was aggressive, consumed alcohol illegally, intimidated other customers, including children, and it is suspected that he may have used drugs and urinated in the cabin," said a spokesperson.

The plane left Glasgow bound for Tenerife South on time and, after being diverted to Faro, had to wait there, first for the police to take the man away and then to thoroughly clean the carpet and seats affected in the cabin.

Holidaymakers were delayed overnight while the plane was deep-cleaned before their flight to Tenerife the following day, and furious passengers waiting to board the return leg to Glasgow were also hit with a long delay.

"In the end, it took 24 more hours for passengers to reach their destination," said Jet2 managing director Phil Ward, who apologized "to all passengers and staff involved in the incident."

Mr Ward said that the company expects "financial compensation for what was done by Mr Forrest on that flight to Tenerife. We will vigorously pursue him for all the costs we incur as a result of this diversion, in addition to banning him from flying Jet2 again forever. The well-being of our passengers is paramount."

Forrest was not arrested in Portugal but missed out on his holiday and stayed at the airport for a couple of nights before flying home with Ryanair. He admitted he was drunk but denied urinating and wanted to apologise for his behaviour.

Forrest said: “I didn’t urinate in the cabin. I poured out a bottle of vodka that I bought in duty-free. I agree that I was drinking that secretly. I was very much drunk. I was just drinking too much.”

“They said I was endangering the aircraft, but I wasn’t. I was already drinking the vodka prior to that, but that’s why I poured it out because I couldn’t drink it.”