Man hauled off Edinburgh flight for 'assault and abusing staff' appears in court

A man has appeared in court after being hauled off a flight in Edinburgh in connection with assault and abusing staff.

Police were called to Edinburgh Airport around 4.30pm on Wednesday after a Jet2 flight to Cyprus had to return to the airport after take-off due to a disruptive passenger.

A 32-year-old man was arrested and charged by waiting officers.

Gerard Buist appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday, charged with a number of offences, including three counts of assault, one count of assault to injury, abusing staff and endangering an aircraft.

The 32-year-old, from Glasgow, made no plea and was committed for further examination and granted bail.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 4.30pm on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, police received a report of a disruptive passenger on a flight that had departed from Edinburgh Airport.

“The flight returned to the airport, and a 32-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with various offences, including assault and endangering an aircraft.

“Anyone with any footage which could assist our enquiries is asked to contact officers via 101, quoting incident number 2320 of Wednesday, September 23, 2026.”

A spokesperson for Jet2.com said: “As a family-friendly airline, we take a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive passenger behaviour, and we strongly condemn any behaviour of this nature.

“We will not hesitate to take appropriate action against disruptive passengers, including through the courts where necessary, and we will seek to recover the costs incurred as a result of their behaviour.

“We would like to apologise to all customers and our colleagues onboard who had to experience this.”