Man caught smoking on plane

The man was caught smoking in the plane's toilet. Photo / iStock

A holidaymaker was escorted off a Ryanair plane by police after cabin crew caught him smoking in the toilet mid-flight.

The incident occurred when flight 4331 was en route to Manchester Airport, after setting out from Tenerife yesterday.

On landing at the UK airport, the man was led off the aircraft by police officers, where he was given a warning.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, a passenger on the flight, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "We landed and were kept waiting for about 20 minutes on the tarmac, then they made an announcement over the Tannoy. They said they were waiting for the police to meet the plane.

"Someone behind me said they thought another passenger had been caught smoking on the flight. They came onto the plane and took someone off."

The newspaper reports that the police were called by Ryanair staff after he allegedly lit up inside one of the toilets.

As he was getting up to leave the aircraft, cabin crew detained until the police arrived on board. He was then escorted off the plane.

Greater Manchester Police have said that the man "was warned about his behaviour", and that "it was up to Ryanair whether to ban him".

The flight landed in Manchester at 11.55pm, but passengers weren't allowed to disembark until the incident had been resolved.

A spokesperson for Ryanair told MailOnline Travel: "The crew of this flight from Tenerife to Manchester requested police assistance upon arrival at Manchester after a customer was found smoking inflight.

"Police removed and detained the individual. We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority."