JetBlue: Drunk man restrained and put in headlock by fellow flyers in wild mid-flight scuffle after plane took off from Gatwick Airport

A man was restrained by four passengers onboard an eight-hour flight after he became abusive towards the cabin crew. The incident occurred on Tuesday 30 January on a JetBlue flight from Gatwick Airport to New York JFK.

A video shows the aggressive man struggling against four other men, a group of Brits, who are trying to hold him still in the darkened cabin aisle. The group of men had stepped in to help the airline staff calm the man down.

One could be seen holding him in a headlock, however, the allegedly drunk passenger managed to wriggle free. A woman, believed to be the drunk man’s girlfriend, begged one of the men to remove their hands from his face.

She said: “Please get that off of his face,” to which he replied: “I can't just leave him.” She added: “No, no, no listen, don't tell me to stop. Ben, Ben Stop fighting them. Stop fighting them”. The woman cried this whilst the four hero customers attempted to hold him back. 

The group managed to restrict him and moved him down the plane aisle, towards two cabin crew members. One passenger said: “Jesus Christ”. Another man appeared to try and reassure someone and said: “Don't worry I'm right here.”

The video then showed the group standing in the narrow gangway as they knocked into seats. As the man attempted to escape from them, one said: “Right take him down.” The woman said “no” and then started sobbing.

Witness Grant Saunders told MailOnline that the men “eventually tackled him to the floor” and they got “a round of applause as they left. The flight took off from Gatwick at 11.55am and arrived on time at 8.16pm GMT on Tuesday. 

JetBlue told MailOnline that the crew had discovered an opened bottle of liquor that the customer had brought on board. They confirmed that the man was restrained and that law enforcement dealt with him when they landed in New York, adding “we appreciate our customers’ assistance and understanding during this incident and apologise for the experience.”