The TUI flight was on its way to Manchester Airport from Montego Bay
18:29, 15 Sep 2025Updated 19:11, 15 Sep 2025
A TUI passenger says he and hundreds of others are stranded in the Bahamas after a “drunk” passenger caused their flight to be grounded.
The plane, which was on its way to Manchester from Montego Bay, had to make a sudden diversion and landed at the Lynden Pindling International Airport to remove a disruptive passenger on Monday (September 15).
According to Nathan, who was on the flight, the man was visibly drunk and attempted to open his own bottle of alcohol, which is forbidden. Nathan added that during the short journey, he was disruptive to staff and fellow passengers.
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“He was winding people up,” said Nathan, who is currently still in Barbados.
“When we were boarding the plane there was an incident but I didn’t see it.
“One of the TUI members of staff contacted the cabin crew members to say there was a man being abusive and opening his own bottle of alcohol.
“When we were in the air, it escalated and started to become a bit more dramatic. Then the captain announced that we would be diverting the plane.
“When we were grounded there were nearly two to three fights because the guest was standing up and apologising and everyone was pretty p***ed off.
The passengers were supposed to land in Manchester today (Image: Handover )
“There were kids onboard and it was a long day and going to be a long flight.
“He was being really challenging to people and he was drunk. He should have never been let on in the first place.”
Once grounded, Nathan says that the plane was unable to return back into the air due to the staff exceeding their time sheet, and a technical malfunction found on the plane.
Nathans says that around 400 people were put up in temporary hotels in the Bahamas and are now waiting for news about when they are to be returned to the UK.
“It’s affected loads of people,” he said. “I know one customer who said they’ve missed a funeral today.
“Loads of people should have been back to work today. People have parking costs. We were supposed to land at around 7.30am.
“TUI have been horrendous, they’ve not informed us of anything.”
TUI has been approached for comment.