A 36-year-old Irish woman was arrested at Palma airport after violently resisting Guardia Civil officers who had been called to meet her flight from Edinburgh.
According to witnesses, the woman was loud and aggressive during the flight and appeared to be under the influence of drugs. Her behaviour alarmed other passengers, and the captain alerted the airport authorities before landing.
The arrest
Guardia Civil officers were waiting at the gate when the aircraft arrived. Instead of cooperating, the woman fought them, punching and kicking the agents. One officer suffered a broken finger and a second was also hurt.
Witnesses said they had never seen such aggression, with one comparing her to “the Incredible Hulk”.
Even after she had been handcuffed, she continued to resist. She kicked the door of the patrol car hard enough to dent it and, once inside the vehicle, smashed the rear right-hand window with her fists.
In court
She spent the night in the cells and appeared the next morning before a duty judge at the Vía Alemania courts in Palma, charged with assault on and resistance to law enforcement officers. The judge granted her bail while the case continues.
A familiar problem
Incidents involving disruptive passengers on summer flights to Palma are a recurring issue for the airport, airlines and police. Under Spanish law, assaulting a police officer is treated as a serious offence that can carry a prison sentence, and airlines can also take civil action to recover the costs caused by disruptive passengers, as well as banning them from future flights.
