An easyJet flight to Tenerife packed with rowdy British youngsters in their twenties made an emergency landing at Gatwick this morning after suffering a hydraulic failure in mid-air.
EasyJet flight U28033, which had up to 244 passengers on board, squawked the 7700 emergency code as it was flying over France.
Passenger Brian Marcel, 78, from London, was on his way to Tenerife for a three-day golfing holiday.
He said his plans were left in tatters after the flight turned around. Since landing, EasyJet staff have warned passengers they could be removed from any future flights if they misbehave.
Speaking from the plane that was marooned on the tarmac for an hour, Brian told MailOnline: ‘I was only going for three days. There’s one day down the drain.
‘The plane is full of young people in their twenties – 244 of us. I could be the grandfather of everyone on board!
‘You’re supposed to be sitting down with your seatbelt on but young people have no idea of discipline – they are standing up.
Were YOU on board? Email chris.matthews@mailonline.co.uk
A flight to Tenerife that was packed with young people in their twenties was forced to turn around after a mid-air emergency
One of the plane’s hydraulic systems failed, forcing the plane to turn around
Passenger Brian Marcel, 78, (pictured) from London, was on his way to Tenerife for a three-day golfing holiday
Waitrose account manager Annie Passingham, 32, (right) from Bracknell, was on board with her colleague Emily, also 32, (left) as they headed out for a holiday. Annie said a group of men drinking vodka caused trouble for the EasyJet staff after the plane turned around
When the plane landed, police boarded it and staff warned youngsters not to misbehave if they wanted to stay on the plane
Brian was finally able to leave the plane (pictured) at around 11.45 after more than an hour on the tarmac
‘We were one and a half hours into the flight when they told us that they had lost a hydraulic system.
‘The police are meeting us here. We had to be towed because there were no hydraulics.’
As he was speaking to MailOnline, one of EasyJet’s flight attendants told the passengers they would be transferred to another flight at 1.30pm, which was met with whoops of joy.
However, he warned passengers that any misbehaving youngsters would be booted from the plane if they caused a disturbance before then.
Although Britain is enjoying a balmy day, Brian had hoped to be in Tenerife for the start of his three-day holiday
Passengers were ushered to buses after they got off the plane
The flight attendant said: ‘Any unruly behaviour will result in you not being able to travel in our aircraft.’
Brian, who runs the IBCS Group barcode business in Eastern Europe, said there was ‘no panic’ when the plane turned around and no one said the word ’emergency’.
He added: ‘I was concerned if the flaps would work because they’re a hydraulic system, but they were fine.’
The Airbus A321neo commercial plane that Brian was on had a hydraulic failure at around 8.40am, according to Flight Emergency.
It descended from its cruising level and turned around, heading back towards Gatwick.
An easyJet flight to Tenerife packed with British holidaymakers has made an emergency landing at Gatwick after a hydraulic failure in mid-air
EasyJet flight U28033, which had up to 244 passengers on board, squawked the 7700 emergency code as it was flying over France this morning (File image)
It was put into a holding pattern at 6,000ft to burn its fuel before landing – which can sometimes be needed to lose weight or because of maintenance issues.
Waitrose account manager Annie Passingham, 32, from Bracknell, was on board with her colleague Emily, also 32, as they headed out for a holiday.
Annie said a group of men who had bought vodka in duty free were causing trouble for the EasyJet staff after the plane turned around.
She told MailOnline: ‘The main problem was a group of guys who had bought a load of vodka in duty free.
‘They were drinking, standing up, wanting to go to the toilet when we were going to land.
‘They were being verbally aggressive.’
She said they quietened down when the police boarded the plane, but even so have been banned from the next flight and will have to buy tickets with another airline if they want to go to Tenerife.
Annie said the emergency frightened some children and also sparked panic in a man who was going out to get married in Tenerife tomorrow.
In the end, she said the landing went okay, although it was ‘a bit wobbly’. When they were finally allowed to get off, she said police officers ‘let everyone leave one row at a time’.
A spokeswoman for Gatwick Airport said: ‘The aircraft has landed safely and no operational impact at the airport.’
An EasyJet spokesman said: ‘We can confirm that the captain of flight EZY8033 from London Gatwick to Tenerife took the decision to return to Gatwick as a precaution, due to a technical issue.
‘The Captain performed a routine landing in accordance with standard operating procedures and passengers have disembarked normally.
‘We are arranging for an alternative aircraft to operate the flight to Tenerife and would like to thank customers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience caused as a result of the delay.
‘The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority and easyJet operates its aircraft in strict compliance with manufacturer guidelines.’
