A video has gone viral showing a Tui flight attendant confronting abusive passengers who allegedly made racist remarks towards a British-Iranian family during a flight from London to Lanzarote.
The footage, filmed on Christmas Eve 2023, captures the crew member warning disruptive passengers after they reportedly caused chaos throughout the journey.
The incident, which ended with police involvement, was recorded by a passenger who posted it to TikTok earlier this month after what she described as an “appalling” response from Tui.
In the video, the flight attendant can be heard saying: “This is a family flight. Everybody zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket.”
The crew member declared: “If I hear one more remark from anybody, I will be ringing the pilots, and they will be getting the police”
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The crew member continued: “If I hear one more remark from anybody, I will be ringing the pilots, and they will be getting the police.”
“I have had enough. Zip it, lock it, in that pocket – otherwise, I’m on that phone.”
Flight attendant Jay Robert later told the Daily Mail that cabin crew must sometimes “take a firm stance” to maintain control and ensure disruptive behaviour is not tolerated.
The British-Iranian family faced explicit racist abuse during the flight, according to the passenger who filmed the incident, and had been targeted after briefly speaking Farsi instead of English during the journey.
The abusive passengers called them “P***s” and told them to “go back to your country”, the filmmaker, who uses the social media handle @Zaypip, told the Mail.
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The situation escalated with threats of physical violence, with the disruptive group threatening to “beat me up, break my glasses,” the victim reported.
The abuse reportedly continued from the start of the flight, with the victims’ seats being kicked and punched throughout the journey, while children were running along the aisle as adults shouted across to each other.
“No one was happy with the way these passengers were behaving,” the filmmaker told the publication.
Upon landing in Lanzarote, the victims had to wait for all other passengers to disembark, while police were called to escort the British-Iranian family to their hire car due to concerns for their safety.
The victims’ ordeal continued during their holiday in Lanzarote when they encountered the same group during a camel ride experience.
The incident sent the family, including a six-year-old girl, into panic over fears of further harassment.
The situation became tense again during their return flight when the abusive passengers sat near them at the gate
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The situation became tense again during their return flight when the abusive passengers sat near them at the gate.
After alerting staff, the victims were allowed to board first, with the captain promising to divert the flight at the first sign of trouble.
The airline offered compensation of just £25, refunding five per cent of the £500 flight booking, which @Zaypip said “amounts to a few coffees”.
In a phone call, the company reportedly told the victims “thank you for your feedback, there’s nothing we can do, sorry for the inconvenience this has caused”.
In a letter, Tui acknowledged the passengers felt “uncomfortable” and promised the events would be “fully investigated”, confirming that feedback had been “passed onto the relevant departments for review”.
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