After booking into the flight for my family and me (wife and two children, 8 years and 22 months old), we proceeded to the departure gate. After getting this far we noticed that 6 passengers on the same flight were very drunk and had problems walking and talking, but were allowed to board the flight to Bodrum. No attempt was made by Servisair or Sky Airlines to halt these passengers as a risk to the other clients on board.
Shortly after take off we had to make a quick descent back into Dublin Airport due to an air pressure issue that caused great pain to my 8-year-old son and 22-month-old baby boy. No explanation was made as to what was going on.
After landing we were kept on the plane, and then after a substantial wait – again with no update by the airline staff – we were told to exit the aircraft and wait in the terminal again. Most vendors were closing down at this time as the last flights were leaving. Servisair again provided very little in the way of customer service, providing nothing to us of updates.
Eventually an offer of vouchers was made to my family which we could not use due to no vender being open in the departure area. After a very long walk back to the terminal we found a vendor that was open, but they only stocked alcohol!
The 6 passengers who were already drunk decided to stock up on 4 bottles of lager beer and 2 bottles of wine EACH, and then when finished opened the duty-free liquor they had purchased.
A Servisair rep appeared and told us at midnight that all passengers were to assemble at the gate at 1:20am for more information as the repair was done and we were waiting for a slot to take off. At 2:00am the rep had not yet arrived so I went looking for her.
I found the check-in rep who booked us into the flight and demanded to know what was going on. He told me the flight was ready to go as the repair had just been completed, contradicting what the Servisair rep said! He also informed me that hotels were being booked and were then cancelled! Asking for milk for my baby, I was told none was available and to ask on the plane.
The 6 passengers who had been drinking could barely walk and were allowed to board with not so much as a question being asked, which made the other passengers including myself take note to avoid these people at all costs.
While we waited to leave I politely asked 3 different flight attendants for milk for my baby. Two of them just walked past me and the third put her hand up into my face to dismiss me completely. I then asked the passenger beside me to see if I was invisible due to the rudeness that was shown to me.
Two of the six drunken passengers passed out on the flight and no trouble was had. However, 4 of the 6 started a fight about an hour outside of Bodrum after again being served alcohol by Sky Airlines flight attendants. This was a very serious fight with two men in the party becoming covered in blood. My wife and children were very, very scared as to the outcome as we could not leave the situation. A lot of screams and children crying was heard all over.
After a few moments a flight attendant came out to try to break it up and lead one of the men to the front of the plane. After 10 or so minutes the man proceeded down the plane, this time with a plastic fork or knife in hand to cause more injury to the second drunk passenger. Not only was the fight bad enough, but walking a person dripping with blood through a plane was extremely dangerous due to possible infection from spilt blood on the surrounding areas!!!
While all of this was going on there was nothing coming from the captain of the plane to assure passengers to calm down, nothing from the head flight attendant to again reassure passengers, and it was swept under the carpet. Having been a long time flier and business flier I know that on other airlines these passengers would have been arrested and deported back to their country. We as passengers fully expected this, but again nothing was done. The 4 people involved in the fight were let off the plane and allowed to mix with passengers while going through passport control. They were then allowed to proceed out into the main terminal and onwards in their journey.
I am completely disgusted at the way in which my holiday had started. No one had taken responsibility for looking after passenger needs while being delayed. No one in Servisair or Sky Airlines wanted to stop drunken passengers from boarding. After landing, Sky Airlines did not want to get involved in stopping these drunks from interacting with families who were clearly distressed about the events that had taken place.
My family was distraught at the sight of these scenes; having an 8-year-old and baby not only hearing but witnessing such violence is something that will live with them for a long time. Both my 8-year-old and wife have had nightmares about this incident while on holiday, and all of us were extremely worried and upset at the thought of coming back for fear of the same people being on board again!
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