Two Ryanair Flights Diverted to France After Midflight Disturbances

Two separate Ryanair flights were diverted to France this week after midflight disturbances by passengers, officials and fellow travellers said. One flight from Milan to London Stansted was redirected to Paris Beauvais after two men began tearing and destroying their passports around 15 to 20 minutes after takeoff. On a separate service from London Luton to Alicante, pilots diverted to Toulouse when an allegedly intoxicated passenger reportedly attempted to open an emergency exit, prompting police to remove five men from the aircraft.

On the Milan to Stansted flight, passengers reported that one man began ripping pages from his passport and ingesting them while another tried to flush pages down a toilet once the seatbelt sign was switched off. Cabin crew intervened, knocking on a lavatory door and making an announcement over the public address system, passengers said. The captain chose to divert to Paris Beauvais, where French police boarded the aircraft and detained two men. The flight resumed after about a two hour delay and continued on to London Stansted. A passenger described the episode as "the most terrifying 15 minutes of my life," and other travellers praised the crew...