Rowdy air passenger ditched on remote island

LONDON - A drunken passenger on a holiday flight from Britain to Spain was dropped at a tiny island off the African coast after he swore at the cabin crew, a newspaper reported on Friday.

The plane's captain decided to leave the man at Porto Santo, a volcanic outcrop in the Atlantic, after he became abusive when he was refused more alcohol, the UK's Daily Mail said.

The Airbus plane, heading from northern England to the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife, diverted to the Portuguese island, which is just 16km long and 7km wide.

Police met the man at the airport. He is due to appear in court in mainland Portugal in January, the newspaper said.

The island's airport is a legacy of the Cold War when NATO considered making Porto Santo a frontline base to guard Europe's southern approaches.

With only half a dozen hotels and a few sandy beaches, Porto Santo is little known to most tourists who flock to the nearby, larger island of Madeira, a two-hour ferry ride away.

The Monarch Airlines plane landed nearly fours late in Tenerife. The passenger had a belated start to his holiday after going to Madeira to take another flight, the Mail said.

No one at Monarch could be reached for comment.

- REUTERS