The plane had to divert shortly before its scheduled landing in Dublin
14:42, 15 Dec 2025
Cork Airport (Image: Cork Airport )
A passenger had to be removed from a plane at Cork Airport today after airline staff alerted Gardaí to an incident aboard the flight. A plane full of winter holidaymakers and folks headed home for Christmas had their travel plans halted this afternoon after the flight between Faro and Dublin was forced to divert to Cork less than an hour before landing.
A spokesperson for Ryanair confirmed that crew on the flight called ahead for Garda assistance after a passenger “became disruptive” onboard. The plane was diverted to Cork Airport, and as it landed, Gardaí were on the tarmac waiting for it to arrive. Officers swiftly boarded the aircraft to remove a man aged in his 30s.
The incident occurred aboard a Ryanair flight that departed from Faro at 10:15 am this morning and landed in Cork shortly after 1 pm this afternoon. The plane was on the tarmac for approximately 90 minutes before taking off at approximately 2:30 pm.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “Crew on this flight from Faro to Dublin (15 Dec) called ahead for police assistance after an individual passenger became disruptive onboard. The aircraft was met by police and this passenger was removed.
“Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour, ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a respectful and stress-free environment, without unnecessary disruption.”
A Garda spokesperson said: “Gardaí arrested a man (30s) under the Air Navigation and Transport Act, 2022, following an incident on board an aircraft which diverted to Cork Airport this afternoon, Monday 15th December 2025. The man is currently detained at a Garda station in Co. Cork. Investigations are ongoing.”
Passengers got lucky this time around, as in certain cases, these disruptions can put crews over their allotted flight hours, forcing everyone to find alternative transport or possibly wait overnight for a replacement flight the following day. This typically comes at a huge cost to the airline, which can then be passed on to the passenger who forced the plane to divert.
This year, Ryanair introduced a ‘bad behaviour’ fine in an effort to discourage passengers from misbehaving aboard their aircraft. The new €500 fine is considered the minimum penalty, as Ryanair intends to continue pursuing civil damages against disruptive passengers.
In one high-profile case, Ryanair filed a €15,000 civil lawsuit against a passenger after their poor behaviour led to a flight being diverted to an airport in Portugal, where it remained overnight. Ryanair paid for hotel accommodation for all affected passengers and has since sought to recoup those costs.
As today’s disruption was much shorter in nature, the losses incurred by the diversion won’t be anywhere near as high, but Ryanair may still seek to recover any funds spent as a result of the unplanned landing. CorkBeo has reached out to Ryanair for comment on today’s incident.
A spokesperson for Cork Airport told CorkBeo: “Ryanair FR7031 en route from Faro to Dublin was diverted to Cork earlier today. The flight landed at Cork Airport at 13:04.”
