On September 18, 2023, Ryanair flight FR4052 en route from Manchester to Faro had to return to its origin because a passenger on board the plane was violent towards a woman.

At the time of the incident, the Boeing 737-800 with the registration EI-EBK had already been in the air for around two hours. According to official information, the man suddenly became aggressive towards a woman. When he was verbally reprimanded by a lady who accompanied him, he apparently completely lost his temper.

Unruly PAX is said to have hit his companion hard in the face several times. Other passengers and the crew intervened. A flight attendant immediately informed the captain, who then decided that for safety reasons the flight to Faro would be canceled and that they would return to Manchester.

Air traffic control was informed of the incident via radio. Fight-like scenes are said to have occurred afterwards because the troublemaker didn't want to be calmed down. For this reason, police support was requested at Manchester Airport.

Shortly after landing back, the executive boarded the medium-haul jet and took the unruly PAX away. According to an official statement from the police, they found out about the incident at around 6:25 a.m. local time and the superior decided that an operation was necessary. Greater Manchester Police said: “As the plane returned to Manchester Airport, a man in his 4s was arrested on suspicion of being drunk on the plane, two counts of assault and public order offenses (Section XNUMXa) and remains under arrest Questioning in police custody”. The affected plane was able to take off again towards Manchester with some delay.

A Ryanair spokesman said of the incident: “This is now a matter for the local police. We sincerely apologize to the affected passengers for the inconvenience caused by this passenger's disruptive behavior."