The service from Dublin to Malta was impacted before it had even left the ground, with a group of passengers delaying the flight by 45 minutes when they refused to take their seats.

Other holidaymakers told Dublin Live they also played loud music and jumped to their feet again as soon as the aircraft had taken off.

“The second we were in the air everyone was back on their feet again and there were 45 minute queues for the toilet and then they couldn’t even get the catering trolley down the aisle,” said one fellow traveller.

“They ended up just letting people buy food and drink from the top of the plane.”

Another eyewitness claimed that one man in particular persistently hassled other passengers and kept “starting trouble”.

“He wouldn’t calm down and was getting angry,” they said.

“A man I believe was an off-duty Garda took him down carefully.”

For the final 40 minutes of the flight, the offending passenger was held securely until touch down.

When the plane arrived at Malta, police were on hand to arrest several of those onboard.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: “The crew of this flight from Dublin to Malta (30 April) requested police assistance upon arrival after several passengers became disruptive in-flight.”

The Independent

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