A Guardia Civil officer has been injured after a violent altercation broke out on a Ryanair flight from Edinburgh to Lanzarote, prompting renewed calls for more security at the Ceasar Manrique airport.
The incident happened on Friday afternoon (23rd May) when officers at Lanzarote Airport were called in after receiving reports of several disruptive passengers onboard the plane.
According to an official press release from the Unified Association of the Guardia Civil (AUGC), the fight involved passengers who appeared to be under the “influence of substances”.
When officers boarded the plane, they were met by a “hostile” man, believed to be around 35 years old, who then attacked them. As a result, one of the officers suffered a broken finger after being kicked and punched by the suspect.
Despite the violence, the man was restrained and later sentenced to four months in prison and ordered to pay over €10,000 in compensation for assaulting a police officer.
“Attacks are becoming more frequent”
The AUGC said the assault was “just one example” of the growing number of violent incidents officers face when dealing with unruly passengers. The union warned that staffing levels at Lanzarote Airport are “woefully inadequate” for an airport that handled close to nine million travellers last year.
Only three officers were able to respond to Friday’s incident, but the union claims that in some cases, just one officer is sent to deal with onboard disturbances, often only backed by private security staff.
The association is now urging Spain’s Guardia Civil leadership to urgently increase airport staffing levels and implement a clear protocol for dealing with disruptive passengers aboard aircraft.
“No tasers, no protocol”
The union also raised concerns over the lack of non-lethal weapons such as electric stun guns, equipment they say could help officers de-escalate dangerous situations safely and quickly.
“We’ve repeatedly asked for a proper action protocol on aircraft and better tools to protect our officers, but so far, those calls have been ignored,” a spokesperson said.
The incident has reignited debate around aviation security, particularly in high-traffic tourist destinations like Lanzarote, where officers say they are stretched too thin to respond effectively to growing passenger volumes and increasingly volatile situations.
