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A Jet2 flight bound for Manchester had to make an unscheduled landing at Brussels Airport due to a brawl involving two passengers.
The Boeing 737-800 (Flight LS896) left the Antalya International Airport in Turkey on Feb. 12, 2026, at 6:27 p.m. local time. Two British tourists had been reportedly drinking heavily and were making racist remarks toward other passengers, according to AviationSourceNews. After one was unable to purchase cigarettes on the aircraft, the situation escalated. The men apparently threw punches at each other and at other passengers attempting to intervene. At one point, a passenger was placed in a headlock as the flight attendants attempted to restore order and break up the fight.
The captain decided to divert the flight in accordance with airline safety protocols. Belgian police removed and arrested the two disruptive passengers. Passengers cheered when they were removed and chanted bye-bye when they were escorted off, according to Manchester Evening News. The flight continued to Manchester, arriving significantly later than originally planned, according to Aviation24. View this post on Instagram A post shared by FL360aero (@fl360aero)
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"Flight LS896 from Antalya to Manchester diverted to Brussels yesterday, due to the appalling behaviour of two disruptive passengers," Jet2 said in a statement. "They were both offloaded by police in Brussels and the flight continued to Manchester. We can confirm that the two disruptive passengers will be banned from flying with us for life, and we will also vigorously pursue them to recover the costs that we incurred as a result of this diversion. As a family-friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behaviour, and we are very sorry that other customers and our colleagues onboard had to experience this too."
Along with the ban and the airline's financial claims, the two men face potential criminal charges in Belgium.