Four passengers on a Cyprus-to-Birmingham easyJet flight were escorted off the plane by police after allegedly vaping throughout the five-hour journey and ignoring repeated warnings from cabin crew.
A group of three women and one man kept vaping on flight EZY6610 from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Birmingham Airport on September 16, hiding their devices behind their legs even after crew members told them to stop multiple times. When the plane landed, police were already waiting. An officer boarded the aircraft, walked up to the group, and delivered a brief, matter-of-fact instruction caught on passenger footage: "Do you guys want to get off please? Just go that way. We'll have a chat with you outside."
The rest of the passengers sat on the tarmac for roughly 20 to 25 extra minutes while the four were removed, a delay that did not sit well with families and tired travelers at the end of a long flight.
Annalise Galstaun, a 31-year-old passenger who filmed the incident, told The Sun the group had been warned "a few times" but kept at it for the duration of the flight.
"They were warned a few times by easyJet staff but continued to vape on the sly throughout the five-hour journey hiding the vape behind their legs on the seat."
Galstaun said crew members spotted the group "numerous times" and that at least one nearby passenger also complained. Before the cabin doors opened, an easyJet employee walked over and informed the vapers that police were waiting for them at the gate.
Children on board were crying, Galstaun added. A five-hour flight from Cyprus is long enough without strangers blowing flavored vapor through the cabin.
"Grown adults who can't wait to smoke their strawberry flavoured crap."
An easyJet spokesperson confirmed the airline contacted police before the plane touched down. The airline described the group's conduct as disruptive and said its crew acted to protect the flight and other customers.
"Our cabin crew are trained to assess all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other customers is not compromised at any time. We take these incidents seriously and do not tolerate disruptive behaviour onboard."
West Midlands Police confirmed they received a complaint of a disruptive passenger and "supported staff in asking someone to leave the plane." The police statement referenced a single passenger, though the footage and eyewitness account describe four people being removed. Whether that reflects imprecise language or a narrower formal complaint is unclear.
Neither the airline nor police said whether the four passengers were arrested, charged, or fined. That question remains unanswered.
Galstaun did not mince words about the delay the group caused everyone else on board.
"I felt annoyed as we were delayed around 20/25 mins grounded on the floor waiting for them to be escorted. There were children onboard crying, it's a long journey."
Vaping on commercial aircraft is banned under aviation safety rules, and airlines treat it the same way they treat smoking, as a violation that can ground a flight or get passengers removed. EasyJet's own policy is explicit: disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.
Yet four adults spent five hours testing that line, hiding vapes behind their legs like teenagers sneaking cigarettes under the bleachers. Crew warned them. Fellow passengers complained. None of it mattered until a police officer stepped on board and told them, politely, to leave.
Rules only work when people who break them face consequences. Whether these four faced any beyond a conversation on the tarmac, nobody has said.
