At Manises Airport in Valencia, Spain, a passenger climbed onto the roof of an aircraft, causing a disturbance. The Vueling flight operated with a delay of approximately two hours.
Incident That Challenged Security at Valencia Airport
At Manises Airport in Valencia, Spain, an incident in which a passenger climbed onto the roof of an aircraft and displayed uncontrollable behaviour caused widespread panic. The incident led to an approximately two-hour delay to a Vueling Airlines flight that was scheduled to depart for Amsterdam on Saturday.
Passenger Climbed onto the Upper Fuselage of the Aircraft
Footage recorded by witnesses on their mobile phones shows an unidentified man climbing onto the roof of the aircraft without being noticed by other passengers in the terminal. The recordings capture moments in which the man ran across the top of the aircraft, shouted, and behaved mockingly towards ground handling staff.
Mocking Gestures Towards Ground Handling Staff
The video footage shows the passenger shouting while beating his chest and making taunting gestures towards staff below by placing his hands over his ears. It was also captured that he took a drink out of a black backpack beside him, drank it, and then angrily threw both the drink and the white windbreaker jacket he was wearing onto the ground.
It was reported that the man ran along the aircraft fuselage twice and continued his provocative behaviour throughout the incident.
Incident Ended with Gendarmerie Intervention
Local media outlet Las Provincias reported that the individual remained on the roof of the aircraft for at least 10 minutes and was persuaded by the Gendarmerie to come down. Once the incident ended, the passenger was carefully brought down using stairs attached to the side of the aircraft.
Authorities stated that no weapons were found in the individual’s bag. As a precaution, medical teams were also dispatched to the scene.
Air Traffic Not Affected
Spain’s airport operator and air navigation service provider Aena announced that the incident did not pose a serious risk to passenger safety and that there was no general disruption to air traffic.
Following the incident, the aircraft underwent a comprehensive technical inspection by Vueling maintenance teams. While no damage was found to the upper fuselage, the flight was allowed to proceed normally after all checks were completed.
Cause of the Incident Remains Unclear
The reason behind this unusual outburst on the roof of the Vueling aircraft has not yet been clarified. While the investigation continues, an official statement has been requested from Vueling Airlines regarding the incident.
