Woman, 79, met by armed police after Jet2 tuna row

A 79-year-old woman, who was escorted off a plane by armed police in Turkey after she refused to pay for a "frozen tuna roll", denied the airline's claim that her behaviour was "disruptive".

Lily, from Hertfordshire, flew from Stansted Airport, in Essex, to Bodrum on a Jet2 flight on 3 November and ordered a £9 tuna bap.

She said it was frozen in the middle and refused to pay, but claimed the airline said she had to as she had opened the wrapper. On landing, she was greeted by police, but was let go.

Jet2 said Lily "displayed a catalogue of disruptive behaviour on board... including the unauthorised consumption of her own alcohol that she had brought on board".

Lily told The JVS Show on Three Counties Radio when the flight landed, all the passengers were told to stay in their seats, but she and her daughter were told to make their way to the exit.

She said: "They called the police. Not one... but four police at the end, at the door.

"I was in shock, I was saying to people, 'I think I've been arrested over a sandwich'."

She added: "The policemen were there with their guns."

She and her daughter showed the officers their passports as requested, and the officers said "just go".

Lily, who did not want to give her full name, said she had slept for most of the flight but found it "so stressful" when cabin crew kept waking her up to ask about paying for the sandwich.

"And then the end [with the police] was just awful," she said.

Lily's daughter later sent an email to Jet2 "saying how upsetting it had been".

A spokesperson for Jet2 said: "We can confirm that [she] displayed a catalogue of disruptive behaviour on board flight LS1609 from London Stansted to Bodrum including the unauthorised consumption of her own alcohol that she had brought on board.

"As a result, police met the aircraft on arrival at Bodrum to escort [her] and her daughter off the aircraft.

"As a family-friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to such behaviour, and we make it very clear that customers cannot consume their own alcohol on flights."

It added: "We will always support our crew in instances when they are subjected to rude or unpleasant behaviour while prioritising the safety and comfort of all passengers and crew."

Lily described the Jet2's comments as "disgusting".

When asked if they had brought their own alcohol on board, she said "no" but confirmed she had bought "two wines each".

"I don't know what they're talking about," she said.

"I think they're so embarrassed over this sandwich and the police and the way we were treated.

"They are the ones that behaved disgustingly and disturbed me all the way through the flight."

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