Boozy passenger ‘ripped his top off and lit a cigarette during landing’

SHOCKED holiday-makers looked on as a “hammered” passenger created a scene on a flight, and then came up with a feeble excuse.

The chaotic scenes unfolded as the Emirates A380 was landing at Dubai airport from Manchester, UK.

A ROWDY passenger described as a “drunken buffoon” caused chaos on a flight after stripping off and lighting a cigarette during landing.

Horrified holiday-makers watched as the man, who was flying in business class on the Emirates A380, took off his top as the plane touched down in Dubai from Manchester, The Sun reported.

There was reportedly “chaos in the cabin” as smoke billowed through the air on Friday’s flight.

Five crew members rushed to surround the man, who denied it was him, but a supervisor found a pack of cigarettes in his seat pocket with one partially smoked.

The boozed-up passenger then claimed he forgot he was on a plane, and insisted he would “have a chat” with the captain to apologise.

One disgruntled passenger told Manchester Evening News: “This guy was a drunken buffoon. Everybody was disgusted.

“I fly 150,000 miles (241,00km) a year and have never seen anyone light up on a plane.

“This has really hacked me off. These kinds of people need restricting from travelling with the general public because they are a nuisance.

“Emirates also should have told this man to stop drinking.”

The passenger, aged in his early 50s, was drinking on the upper deck Business Class bar for three hours before the drama unfolded.

He was said to be “basically hammered” and was chatting up a woman with his “very loud Manchester accent”.

The witness added: “He was at the bar for ages and then at one point I came back from the toilet and he was in his seat with his shirt off. Who does that on a flight?”

A spokesman for Emirates said: “Emirates can confirm that on flight EK020 from Manchester to Dubai on 9 December, an intoxicated passenger had to be restrained by cabin crew.

“The aircraft was met by security upon landing at Dubai airport.

“The safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost importance and will not be compromised.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.