EasyJet flight: Man being deported shouts ‘Allahu Akbar, today we die’

HOLIDAY passengers were left terrified after a man being deported screamed threats on board an EasyJet flight bound for Italy.

PEOPLE on a holiday plane jetting off to Venice sat through an unsettling two-hour flight, where a man being deported shouted “Allahu Akbar” and “death is coming”.

Children were said to have been crying as travellers feared a terror attack was imminent, until it became clear the distressed man was handcuffed and being guarded by Home Office officials, The Sun reported.

However passengers say there was no official explanation from the captain or crew as the man shouted and reportedly threatened travellers.

An 11-minute audio recording taken by a nearby passenger was obtained by the Mail on Sunday.

It captures the man faintly shouting “Allahu Akbar” 29 times, “death is coming” 17 times and “we will die” nine times.

The unknown man is said to have kept saying these phrases for almost the entire length of the easyJet flight from Gatwick to Venice on August 23.

Passengers immediately feared he was referring to a terror attack and became concerned they would not get off the plane alive.

But the man may have been referring to the return to his home country in his shouts.

Passengers were left terrified after a man began screaming we are going to die. Picture: Screengrab

The cabin crew were said to have ordered them to delete the videos and pictures they had taken of the man.

Passengers were not allowed to use the toilet at the rear of the plane, where the man was sitting.

Italian police boarded the plane when it landed in Venice and escorted the man away before anyone was allowed to leave the aircraft.

A couple on their way to their honeymoon found the flight extremely upsetting.

Lucy and Terence O’Sullivan, were sitting five rows in front of the man.

Mrs O’Sullivan, 33, said: “It was really scary. I felt threatened. I was tearful. The worst-case scenario was that we weren’t going to get off that plane alive because we didn’t know who the person was, what the circumstances were or anything.

“There was nothing explained to us. It was very daunting.

“When we got on board, the seats were moving so he was obviously kicking or thrashing out. I thought someone was having a fit.”

A couple, who complained to the airline, were told they were not eligible for a refund.

But easyJet did apologise for the incident and any distress — the company said it was reviewing the circumstances with the Home Office.

A spokesman told the Mail on Sunday: “We would not have carried the passenger had he displayed threatening behaviour prior to the flight, the captain would have diverted if any threat was made to the safety of the flight or passengers on board, and he was in the care of two officers escorting him on behalf of the Home Office for the duration of the flight.

“We are reviewing this case with the Home Office to see if lessons can be learned.

“EasyJet only received three complaints from customers on board this flight.”

It was reported that one Home Office official crouched in front of the man to calm him down.

The man, thought to be of African descent, was said to be a failed asylum seeker who had spent a year in a UK detention centre.

It is the first time a person being deported has been reported to have been disruptive on a flight.

This article has been reprinted with permission from The Sun.