Two fined Sh460,000 for chasing plane down runway
Written by Millennium on September 18, 2019
A British father and son chased their missed flight down a runway followed by armed police.
Antonino Loi, 65, and Tony Loi, 40, had been drinking in the bar at Cagliari Airport, Sardinia, when they missed their easyJet flight to London, according to an airport police officer.
The pair then managed to escape through an emergency exit before bolting down the runway in pursuit of the moving plane.
They have now been fined Sh230,000 each (£1,770) after the incident.
Tony, from London, said he thought police chasing after them would made an exception and radio the plane to inform crew what had happened.
But he said it was a “different case altogether”.
Tony told the Sun: “My dad saw an EasyJet plane outside and then saw that boarding was shut.
“I ran downstairs towards the plane, I thought the stairs to the plane were still there, so I basically exited a door that put an alarm off.
“To be honest, I actually thought the police officer was going to radio the plane and tell them to make an exception and let us off but, it was the opposite, a different case altogether.”
The pair, who Tony said were not drunk, were then hauled back to the airport before being taken to a room and told they would receive a hefty fine.
They eventually returned safely to the UK.
Airport police officer Mimmo Bari said the scene was like something from a comedy show – although said in a stricter country, the pair ran the risk of “being shot”.
He claimed the pair had been in the bar at the airport and had missed the flight announcements.
In a statement, EasyJet said: “We can confirm that two passengers were not allowed to travel on flight EZY3204 from Cagliari to London Stansted having arrived late to the gate.
“They were subsequently arrested by the police as a result of behaving disruptively. The safety and wellbeing of passengers, crew and ground staff is always our priority.
“Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour.”
