Jet2 Bans 14 Passengers for Life

British leisure airline Jet2 has banned 14 passengers for life after they allegedly threatened cabin crew and forced a plane to divert to Portugal.

The plane was flying from Glasgow to Tenerife when the crew decided to make an unscheduled landing in Faro, Portugal so the disruptive holidaymakers could be kicked off the plane.

Jet2 claimed the unruly men were "aggressive and verbally abusive" towards flight attendants, and there were concerns about the safety of staff and other travellers.

The Leeds-based budget airline told MailOnline Travel that Portuguese police officers boarded the plane when it landed in Faro and escorted the men into the terminal.

The plane took off for Tenerife, but arrived behind schedule.

Jet2 said it is "working closely" with authorities, who are investigating Friday night's incident to determine whether charges are warranted.

A spokeswoman for the low-cost airline said: "Their behaviour towards the cabin crew got so aggressive and verbally abusive that the captain made the immediate decision to divert for the safety of both his team and the other customers on the flight."

"The group were escorted off the aircraft by police in Faro and the flight then continued onto Tenerife."

Phil Ward, managing director of Jet2, said in a statement: "We will not tolerate disruptive and abusive people who threaten our crew and unnerve other passengers."

"We launched our Onboard Together programme to put a stop to such offensive behaviour.

"People who are looking forward their holiday shouldn't have to put up with it and we have empowered our staff to take whatever action they deem appropriate to stamp it out, including diverting flights if necessary."

Jet2 has handed out lifetime bans to a number of boozy or unruly passengers in recent months as it cracks down on disruptive behaviour in an attempt to avoid costly diversions and disruption for holidaymakers.

Last month, a passenger had part of his ear bitten off in an attack on a Jet2 plane that was flying from Newcastle to Ibiza.