Earlier this month, on March 14th, a passenger traveling to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) attempted to headbutt an off-duty police officer when they tried to detain him. The passenger had become intoxicated and was abusive to his family aboard the airplane. This led three off-duty police officers to step in to detain the man. Despite his resistance, the man was escorted off the plane by airport police once the flight landed at LGW.

Detaining a fellow passenger

The incident in question occurred aboard a flight connecting Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport (TFN) with LGW. Prior to boarding, 36-year-old Edgars Emsins purchased a bottle of Captain Morgan Rum at the airport. After consuming the alcohol, Emsins became very drunk and was said to have acted out aboard the flight. According to MyLondon, Emsins was being abusive to his family during the trip.

When cabin crew attempted to de-escalate the situation, Emsins turned on them. At that point, the three off-duty police officers stepped in to assist the crew. They notified the flight attendants that they were police and could help if needed. The three officers managed to restrain Emsins, but not without a fight. After he was restrained, Emsins attempted to keep fighting and continuously tried headbutting the officers. He was then relocated to another part of the plane where there were no passengers, so no one else would be at risk of injury.

London Gatwick Airport Airfield
Photo: London Gatwick Airport

The flight arrived on time at the North Terminal at LGW. From there, the passenger was greeted by airport police, who arrested and escorted him off the airplane. Thankfully no serious injuries have been reported in association with the incident.

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Following the incident, Emsins admitted to three accounts of assault and one account of being drunk on an airplane. He recently received a 16-week suspended sentence and has had to pay roughly $295 in fines. Following the incident, Detective Sergeant Ian Warncken representing the Gatwick CID shared how Emsins' behavior aboard the airplane was utterly unacceptable, commenting,

"Emsins' behaviour was completely unacceptable. Cabin crew and fellow air passengers should not have to put up with drunk and abusive behaviour on board an aircraft."

Aerial view of London Gatwick Airport.
Photo: London Gatwick Airport

Warncken went on to commemorate the officers for handling the situation so well. He stated,

"The three off-duty officers showed great professionalism to safely detain him, so that he could be immediately arrested. This case is a warning about the dangers of consuming alcohol before boarding flights, and demonstrates our determination to catch offenders who are drunk on board."

Unfortunately, the number of unruly passengers aboard commercial airliners has grown in recent years. Despite the rise in restlessness, airlines and airports remain committed to ensuring that air travel is as safe as possible for all passengers. The number of restless passengers seemed to peak during 2020 and 2021. Hopefully, now that the industry is recovering from the pandemic, it will see a decrease in the number of unruly passengers.

What do you think of this incident? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: MyLondon, CanarianWeekly, Sussex Live

  • GATWICK Airport
    London Gatwick Airport
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    LGW/EGKK
    Country:
    United Kingdom
    CEO:
    Stewart Wingate
    Passenger Count :
    6,260,000 (2021)
    Runways :
    08L/26R - 2,565m (8,415ft) | 08R/26L - 3,316m (10,879ft)
    Terminals:
    North Terminal | South Terminal