“The police is not allowed to remove anyone from the flight”
Twenty-three passengers were asked to leave Volotea flight V72579 from Findel to Nice on 26 December after a flight attendant became unfit to fly due to health reasons. The number of passengers must correspond with the number of onboard crew, which meant some passengers had to be removed to meet safety requirements.
Police confirmed the incident to RTL. A spokesperson noted that from the officers’ perspective it was not considered an operation, as no incident occurred. Officers are routinely present at the airport and were called by staff to accompany the procedure “pro forma”. They do not have the authority to remove passengers unless someone poses a threat or behaves aggressively.
In this case, the airline requested that 23 people disembark voluntarily. Had they refused, the flight would have had to be cancelled. All affected passengers were rebooked on the next available flight.
Two officers were present during the process. According to police, no one resisted or acted aggressively.
In a written statement to RTL, a spokesperson for LuxAirport regretted that the incident occurred but clarified that boarding decisions fall solely under the airline’s responsibility, which in this case is Volotea. RTL has not yet received a response from the airline.
French broadcaster TF1 also learnt of the incident and subsequently launched an appeal via social media on 27 December, asking affected passengers to come forward. The flight eventually departed after 9pm and landed at 10.19pm, roughly one hour behind schedule.
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Artikel vum 28. Dezember 2025
