Easyjet passengers left 'terrified' after deported asylum seeker repeatedly screams 'death is coming' on board flight

Passengers say they were not told what was going on

The deportee's behaviour left other passengers feeling distressed (file photo)

Passengers on a routine easyJet flight were left “terrified” after a failed asylum seeker being deported repeatedly shouted “death is coming” and other phrases during the trip.

Despite being escorted by Home Office officials, no attempt was made to inform people of the cause of the shouting, passengers said, leaving some travellers unsettled.

The unidentified deportee was being flown from Gatwick to Venice, as a result of rules which outline that asylum seekers must attempt to claim sanctuary in the first safe country they arrive in.

In an audio recording – segments of which were published online by the Mail on Sunday – a man’s voice can be heard to shout the phrases over the captain’s 'welcome aboard' speech.

The deportee shouted “Allahu Akbar” 29 times, “death is coming” 17 times and “we will die” nine times in total, according to the newspaper.

“It was really scary,” Lucy O’Sullivan, a passenger, told the Mail. “I felt threatened. I was tearful. The worst-case scenario was that we weren’t going to get off that plane alive because we didn’t know who the person was, what the circumstances were or anything. There was nothing explained to us. It was very daunting.”

“We didn’t know whether he came from a group of terrorists, or anything along those lines.”

Her husband, Terrence O’Sullivan, added: “It was pretty terrifying. I was thinking he’s somehow got explosives on to the plane and he doesn’t want to go through with it. I absolutely feared for my life.”

The couple were later informed by other passengers on the flight of the circumstances of the outburst.

In a response, easyJet said: “We acknowledge that on this occasion the situation onboard could have been distressing for other passengers and apologise for that.

“However, the safety of the flight was never compromised.

“We would not have carried the passenger had he displayed threatening behaviour prior to the flight, the captain would have diverted if any threat was made to the safety of the flight or passengers on board, and he was in the care of two officers escorting him on behalf of the Home Office for the duration of the flight.

“We are reviewing this case with the Home Office to see if lessons can be learned.

“EasyJet only received three complaints from customers on board this flight.”

The Home Office refused to comment on individual cases.