Flight terror as passenger tries to open door screaming 'see you in heaven'

The TUI flight was diverted to Zagreb Croatia after reports of a disruptive passenger. Photo / Jan Rosolino, Unsplash

A plane load of travellers including families feared for their lives after a disorderly passenger had to be restrained from the plane door, screaming "see you all in Heaven!"

One passenger Mel Brown - 32 - was returning with her children from a holiday in Cyprus, when she witnessed the ordeal.

The disruptive traveller began acting "highly aggressive and threatening" she told The Sun, on the TUI service to Manchester.

The incident began with the passenger - allegedly drunk - began sitting in the aisle, asking for passengers to join him in prayer.

Things kicked off when, instead of going back to his seat, he reportedly ran for the latches on the emergency exits. The mother of two said she felt her family were in danger.

Two off-duty police were able to assist in restraining the trouble passenger, wrestling him away from the door and to the ground.

TUI confirmed that the service, which was diverted to Zagreb Croatia, was affected by a "very disruptive" passenger and that he was "offloaded" in Zagreb.

Abandoned by @TUIUK in Zagreb airport 😢 emergency landing and now left stranded after already having a previous 24 hour delay from Paphos to Manchester. No updates at all, children sleeping on the floor. #tui pic.twitter.com/bNBWw9ZAFj

— Shannon (@Shannonvsxxx) August 16, 2022

"I honestly thought I was going to die and that I'd never see my family or children again," said Brown.

The mother-of-two told local media that the passenger had been behaving erratically while in the terminal, before boarding.

"I'm not the only person that thought it. It was awful, there were so many women screaming and shouting for help and screaming, 'Oh my God, my kids'. All the kids were crying and screaming on the plane."

After this strange behaviour continued in the plane as the man continued to pace up and down the aisle and lock himself in the toilets.

"...All of a sudden he just jumped up in the middle of the plane near the emergency exit and was making hand signals to everybody, praying really loudly in a different language," she said.

After being given the all clear to land in Zagrab the captain descended very quickly - adding that "we were literally falling from the sky," said brown.

"In English he was saying stuff like, 'Everybody needs to start praying, I'll see you all in heaven'."

TUI apologised for the delay and diversion but added that such incidents were "extremely rare".

Most passenger had already been delayed to a later service, since the crew had already reached their maximum safe hours of operation, delaying the departure to Monday 15 August. Following the diversion, Brown and her family were then held up a second night in a hotel in Zagreb.

@TUIUKPR @TUIUK #tuiuk are failing our family. Both teachers, Jane, Dan and their children were supposed to fly from Paphos to Manchester on Sunday. Flight delayed 24 hours then diverted to to Tui having let a drunk passenger onboard. They’re in Zagreb until 19:25 with no help. https://t.co/OouthWyfTj

— Matthew Clements-Wheeler (@MidlandsSBM) August 16, 2022

The late and disrupted arrival of the flight into Zagreb saw chaos as passengers waited to be found accommodation.

A spokesperson for the TUI airline said they apologies for the further disruption to their flight, but the plane was diverted for safety.

"We take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour on our flights."
TUI said their team were on the ground in Croatia, supporting affected passengers with accommodation and meals.