A Ryanair flight from Manchester to Tenerife was diverted to Lisbon last night (Thursday) following an incident involving a group of allegedly intoxicated and disruptive passengers, according to an eyewitness who was travelling on the aircraft.

Flight FR4332 departed Manchester on Thursday evening at 8.30pm (17th September), bound for Tenerife South Airport, but was forced to divert to the Portuguese capital before reaching the Canary Islands.

Flight-tracking records independently confirm that FR4332, operated by a Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX 8-200, was diverted to Lisbon.

A passenger who was on board the aircraft has spoken directly to Canarian Weekly and said the diversion followed problems involving a group of women who appeared to be drunk and were causing disruption during the flight.

According to the eyewitness, police boarded the aircraft after it landed at Lisbon Airport and removed a number of the women.

The passenger estimated that six or seven people were taken off the aircraft by police.

Canarian Weekly has not yet received independent confirmation from the Portuguese authorities of the precise number of people removed or whether they were formally arrested, so these details are based on the eyewitness account.

Crew unable to continue flight

The disruption did not end when the passengers were removed.

According to the passenger, Ryanair subsequently informed those remaining on board that the operating crew no longer had sufficient permitted duty hours available to continue the journey to Tenerife.

As a result, the flight was unable to continue and passengers faced a lengthy delay in Lisbon while arrangements were made for the journey to resume.

The continuation eventually operated on Friday morning as flight FR4332A from Lisbon to Tenerife South.

There was another setback before departure. The passenger told Canarian Weekly that some travellers did not return to the aircraft when required, resulting in approximately another hour's delay before the plane could finally leave Lisbon.

FR4332A eventually arrived at Tenerife South at approximately 9:12am this morning, bringing an unexpectedly long journey to an end for passengers who had originally expected to reach the island the previous night.

Flight-tracking records independently confirm the diversion of FR4332 to Lisbon and identify the aircraft involved as Ryanair Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 EI-HMS. Tenerife South Airport flight information also records the subsequent FR4332A service arriving from Lisbon on Friday morning.

At the time of publication, neither Ryanair nor the Portuguese authorities have independently confirmed the circumstances behind the passenger disturbance, the exact number of people removed from the aircraft, or whether formal arrests were made.