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An easyJet passenger who appeared to be drunk was restrained and later escorted off the plane by police after he became aggressive and attempted to kiss another passenger.
A video obtained by the Daily Mail showed a male passenger shouting, swearing, and threatening passengers and staff as he was restrained by a cabin crew member on flight EJU7670 from Glasgow, Scotland to Lisbon on February 6.
An unnamed eyewitness and passenger who filmed the incident told the Daily Mail that the incident took place after takeoff when the man started drinking red wine and became "very intoxicated" and "rude" to other passengers.
It is not known if the passenger was drinking or already intoxicated before he got on the flight.
The man then attempted to shake the hands of several passengers, the eyewitness said. They added that the man became aggressive after he tried to kiss another male passenger who had previously ignored his request for a handshake.
"He was trying to attack the man who he tried to kiss before which caused passengers to have to restrain him," the eyewitness said, according to the Daily Mail.
"He was restrained for approximately 35 minutes before Portuguese police were able to take him off the plane. Even when the police came to take him away he was trying to wrestle with them," they added.
An easyJet spokesperson confirmed the incident to Business Insider, saying a passenger who was "behaving disruptively" was met by police after landing in Lisbon.
"Our cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time," the spokesperson said.
"Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour towards our crew or other passengers," they said, adding that the "safety and wellbeing" of customers and crew is the highest priority.
The spokesperson did not confirm whether the man was arrested or detained. Representatives for the Lisbon Police could not be reached.
This incident marks another case in the global trend of airline passengers behaving badly.
As BI reported in December, there have been more incidents of customer misconduct on flights since before the pandemic — something that experts are calling the new normal.
Perry Flint, spokesperson for the International Air Transport Association, told BI that it's "clear that post-pandemic behavior is different to that which took place before."
Meanwhile, aviation security expert Jeffrey Price told BI that it's apparent that passengers have become "more entitled" and "less polite" due to a social change that has taken place post-pandemic.
Vance Hilderman, an aviation expert and CEO of aviation consulting firm AFuzion, told BI that bad behavior on flights is "unfortunately" the "new normal."