Airline Passenger Brawls With Staff After Not Being Allowed on Flight—Video

An irate air passenger was so desperate to attack two airport workers he pushed a woman—thought to be his girlfriend—to the floor to get past her so he could batter the two men.

The incident was captured on video by a shocked fellow passenger and the footage went viral on social media after the drama unfolded at Bristol Airport in the U.K.

The traveler, and the woman he was with, were reportedly waiting to board an EasyJet flight from Bristol to the Spanish coastal city of Alicante. The incident happened on June 17, but the footage only recently began to circulate online.

The clip shows a man and woman arguing with airport staff, before the male passenger shoves his partner aside to lunge at the workers. Onlookers gasp and someone shrieks as he punches one man to the ground and knocks another off his feet. When one of the men gets up, the woman repeatedly pushes him in his chest as he and her partner shout at each other.

Somerset and Avon Police said an intoxicated man, 39, and a 37-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of assault and given conditional cautions after interviews.

The clip has been viewed more than 90,000 times since being uploaded to Twitter by one account, although numerous social media users have posted and shared the clip making it impossible to estimate how many people have viewed it. Clips range from 19 seconds of the scuffle itself to a full two-minute video of the incident, including a heated exchange in the lead-up and aftermath of the attack.

Police said the violence broke out after the pair weren't allowed on their flight because they were "intoxicated."

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police told local website Bristol Live: "At around 9.30pm on Friday 17 June, officers based at Bristol Airport responded to a report that members of security staff had been assaulted after two people were stopped from boarding a flight, due to being intoxicated. A 39-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of assault. They were both interviewed and given conditional cautions."

While a spokesperson for Bristol Airport added: "Anti-social, violent, or threatening behavior will not be accepted by Bristol Airport or airlines. Whilst such incidents are rare, we take them very seriously and will fully support any police investigation."

Newsweek has contacted Avon and Somerset Police and Bristol Airport requesting further information.

The violence came amid scenes of mounting tension in British airports as staff shortages led to delays, cancellations, and mountains of luggage piling up.

The picture is not much different globally, with airlines and airports across the world struggling with fewer employees since laying off many during the pandemic. Newsweek reported earlier on how hundreds of flights within, into, and out of the U.S. were delayed and canceled on Monday, with fears of looming travel chaos over the Fourth of July holiday after widespread disruption to air passengers on Memorial Day.