The captain said his crew were ‘traumatised’ after the incident
11:07, 14 Sep 2025Updated 11:24, 14 Sep 2025
The flight from Malaga to Liverpool John Lennon Airport was cancelled after an incident on the inbound flight(Image: James Holt)
Hundreds of people are stuck in Malaga after their EasyJet flight to Liverpool last night was cancelled because of ‘disruptive passengers’. Holidaymakers knew something was wrong when they heard “shouting and screaming” from the plane they were queuing to get on, which was due to leave the Spanish city at 11.25pm local time.
Three people, who appeared to be drunk according to an eyewitness, were then taken away by EasyJet staff and Spanish police. Following this, all passengers were taken back to the desk, where the captain informed them that, due to the incident, the plane’s crew were traumatised and their flight to John Lennon Airport had been cancelled.
Several people have told the ECHO they are unhappy with EasyJet’s customer service, with staff just telling them to “use an app” to get a new flight. Many had to leave the airport with no accommodation available for the night.
A spokesperson for EasyJet has said that crew are required to say if they do not “feel fit to operate”. They apologised for the inconvenience the incident caused however, adding that staff have tried to minimise disruption and promised refunds to any customers who have booked their own accommodation.
Gaynor Loguellou, 64, from Greasby, was due to get on the flight along with her husband, daughter, in-laws and two grandsons. She told the ECHO: “We were about 30ft from the door, sweltering in the glass tunnel and we could hear shouting.
“These two women walked past us. The Guardia passed us with a man. They were speaking Spanish by the door.
“The ground crew then said, you all have to go back to the desk, the captain wants to speak to you. Then he said, ‘my crew are traumatised, so we’re cancelling your flight.’
“We said, you’re joking, we’ve got babies here and are about to get a flight home. He said, ‘it’s my decision, it’s my crew, they are worried about passengers getting on.’”
James Holt, from Manchester, who was travelling back with his partner, was also affected. He said: “We were queuing up for 40 minutes and could tell something was wrong – normally you’re in these queues for about 10 minutes.
“It was after 15 minutes in this queue that we heard shouting and screaming. Then these people were brought off one by one. It was clear they were very intoxicated. After getting back to the desk, the captain told us there had been ‘disruptive passengers and the incident had escalated.’”
Hundreds of holidaymakers were affected(Image: James Holt)
Gaynor says the passengers were then told to go on the EasyJet app to find another flight, but this proved difficult for her and many older passengers.
Gaynor has now been given a flight from Malaga to Gatwick but her group will have to travel in 2 separate flights. They will also miss a hospital appointment for one of her grandsons in Liverpool tomorrow.
Gaynor said: “Then the ground crew turned around and said, go on app and don’t book a flight with someone else – that was it. I said, do you have any idea where you can get baby formula? They didn’t.
“The app didn’t work – it only let you go so far and wouldn’t let you book another flight. We were just left to our own devices.
“It’s horrendous. EasyJet have been dreadful, absolutely dreadful, there’s no interest in any of their customers. We were feet away from getting our flight. It’s still traumatising now.
“It’s bad enough having to get a late flight home with two babies. Then the plane we were meant to get back on flew back to Liverpool empty. It completely ruined the holiday.”
This was echoed by James, who is due to fly back to Leeds airport today. He said: “It was very annoying. In all fairness, me and my partner can understand – these things happen.
“The flight staff were too upset – I completely understand. Getting annoyed at the pilot, which some people were doing, isn’t going to help.
“But we were met with a wall of silence. The woman from EasyJet said, you just need to do it on the app but had no clue on how to get a flight. The website was glitching.
“You can just imagine the scenes – you’ve got the best part of 200 people in a room, trying to get on a website which is not working.
“There were single mothers, pensioners, all grappling with finding somewhere else to stay, but at least we have the finances to book somewhere and claim it back. Some people were not in that situation.
“The member of staff just told us, book the hotel and reimburse it, but all of them were full. It was after midnight and this meant it was even more difficult to get a room.
“Then we were kicked out of the airport and had a half an hour queue for a taxi. It puts a sour taste in your mouth after what has been a nice holiday.
“It’s very stressful and anxiety-inducing. It’s all very well trying to book a hotel but you can’t book for that night. You have to ring anywhere.”
When contacted by the ECHO, an EasyJet spokesperson said: “Flight EZY3382 from Malaga to Liverpool was unable to operate due to a disruptive passenger incident on the inbound flight, which led to the crew being unable to operate the return flight.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority and our crew have a responsibility in line with safety regulations to declare if they do not feel fit to operate.
“While this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience this will have caused and worked to minimise the impact of the disruption, providing options to rebook or receive a refund as well as hotel accommodation and meals, and will reimburse any customers who booked their own.
“We always want to ensure our customers feel supported and so we are contacting Ms Loguellou to understand more about her experience and looking into this feedback with our ground handling provider at Malaga Airport.”
The Spanish Civil Guard have been approached for comment.
Were you impacted by this disruption? If so, please email jamie.greer@reachplc.com