A Brussels Airlines plane left Zaventem several hours late because of drunk passengers. This was broadcast by VRT and confirmed by the airline on Sunday.
The plane, with 136 passengers on board, started heading to Alicante in Spain at 3.30pm on Saturday. “The take-off was going fine at first. But when the plane was heading towards the runway, a group of individuals started misbehaving. The captain’s call for calm was ignored. He decided to head back towards the boarding gate for the passenger’s safety”, the Brussels Airlines spokesman said. They also threatened the crew.
41 passengers were removed. Some of them were under the influence of alcohol. The airline said none of them were Belgian, but did not reveal where they were from. The police were called as back-up.
The plane was finally able to leave 2 and a half hours late. The troublemakers were not allowed back on board and their luggage was taken off.
Because of safety measures that determine a maximum number of working hours for the crew, a new crew had to be called.
(Source: Belga)
