*41* Passengers Removed from Brussels Airlines Flight for Unruly Behavior

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41 passengers were removed from a Brussels to Alicante flight after the captain had enough of their unruly behavior.  The flight originally had 136, meaning 30% of the entire flight was removed.  (And I thought the brawl on board a flight was crazy…)

And yes alcohol was involved.

All 41 were taken into custody.

From RT:

“The captain decided during the taxiing phase at Brussels Airport to return to the gate as, due to the unruly behavior of these passengers, the comfort on board and the safety were not guaranteed,” said Geert Sciot, a spokesman for Brussels Airlines, as cited by Belgian aviation news site Luchtzak.

…

The company said it had to unload the ousted people’s luggage as well, resulting in a departure delay of two hours and 45 minutes.

This is another incident where the passengers got drunk before getting on the airplane.

I stand by my stance that alcohol still shouldn’t be banned from flights–especially since this incident occurred before takeoff.

However, I would be a huge fan of the 41 passengers sharing the liability for the delay, the change in flight crew (including compensating those who didn’t get to work that day due to the crew change), and for any compensation they have to give passengers.

This at the very least would make up for any damages to the airline and passengers; at most, it would hopefully act as a deterrent (but who knows!)  Either way, it would punish those who cause issues while still allowing responsible drinkers to enjoy a beverage or two in flight.