‘LIKE A WARZONE’

Passengers Stranded for 17 Hours After Couple’s Mid-Flight Bathroom Misbehavior

The TUI flight from Cancún to London was forced to divert to Maine because of the incident.

Passengers flying from Mexico to the U.K. endured a grueling 17-hour delay after a couple were caught smoking in the plane’s toilet. The TUI flight had just departed Cancún for London’s Gatwick Airport on July 8 when the captain warned that the flight would be diverted unless the smoking stopped. Around three and a half hours in, the captain announced the plane would divert to Bangor International Airport in Maine, according to The Mirror. The two accused smokers were removed from the flight, while the remaining passengers waited onboard, hoping to continue their journey. Instead, the plane sat on the runway for five hours, during which the plane taxied for take-off, before the flight was canceled so the crew could comply with legal working hours. Passengers were then forced to disembark and spend 12 more hours in what was believed to be a military section of Maine’s airport, enduring cramped and uncomfortable conditions. “Everybody was fed up. In fairness, they started bringing out airbeds, but it was like free-for-all for vultures,” said Terry Lawrance, 66, a Brit affected by the ordeal. “It was like a warzone in a lounge—rows and rows of beds.”