A man who sparked chaos at Manchester Airport during a four-hour stand-off with police claimed he was protesting after being prevented from boarding his flight because he “peed himself”.
Travellers were forced to ditch taxis and walk to the departure hall after nearby roads became gridlocked during the incident yesterday afternoon. The drop-off and pick-up areas were shut from lunchtime after reports emerged of a man on the wrong side of fencing on the upper level of the car park at Terminal 2.
It has now come to light that the man live-streamed part of the incident on social media. During the 11-minute clip, he can be heard saying he had been prevented from boarding a flight to Jamaica. He says: “My reason was because I peed myself. Literally, I got a taxi, went to the toilet and p*ssed myself so they didn’t let me on the plane… So basically now I’ve got Terminal 2 on gridlock and I’ve done it out of principle.”
As he paces back and forth along the ledge he can be seen speaking to a police officer, as he says: “It’s three o’clock I’ve been on here since I got here and now they reckon they are going to give my money back for my flight. I’m going to get arrested but I don’t give a f***. It’s the principle.”
It is believed the man had previously been refused permission to board his flight after airline staff believed he was intoxicated and appeared to have urinated on himself. In a statement released yesterday, police confirmed that a man in his 40s had been arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and a public order offence, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Images from the scene revealed massive tailbacks in and around the airport. “Passengers are having to ditch taxis in a bid to make their flights,” one witness reported.
“An elderly disabled woman being dropped off at the roundabout of T2 at 11:40 because everyone was just being told drop off was closed and you had to walk,” another user posted on X, adding: “Why has this taken so long. Absolute shambles. Chaos outside the airport. No direction.”
The situation was resolved at around 4pm as Manchester Airport advised travellers to ‘allow plenty of time for their journey’ owing to severe congestion. “We are grateful to our passengers for their understanding and patience this afternoon,” their statement concluded.
