Jet2 passenger Callum Kerr dies after he was restrained on flight to Manchester over ‘disruptive’ behaviour

A father has died after he was retrained by fellow passengers and cabin crew following reports he acted aggressively on board a flight from Cyprus to the UK.

Callum Kerr, 35, boarded Jet2 flight LS966 from Larnaca to Manchester on June 21 with his girlfriend when he allegedly became “aggressive” and “disruptive” towards airline staff and other travellers during the journey.

According to a witness who spoke to local media outlet Manchester Evening News, the father-of-three started acting hostile after drinking a significant amount of alcohol before take-off.

The passenger said she feared Mr Kerr “was going to kill someone” as he allegedly threatened other travellers, punched overhead lockers, and banged on the door of the cockpit.

Greater Manchester Police arrived at Manchester Airport at 2.25am on June 22, after being alerted to an incident where a man was “behaving aggressively towards passengers and crew”.

Officers boarded the aircraft to find the boxer “being restrained by passengers and aircrew at the rear of the plane” before they detained him in handcuffs.

Shortly after restraining Mr Kerr, officers “quickly” realised he was “unresponsive” and administered CPR immediately.

Mr Kerr was rushed to a nearby hospital, but despite the efforts of medical staff he could not be saved and died on June 23.

The young dad’s heartbroken family paid tribute to Mr Kerr in a touching statement provided to police.

“Callum was a family man, father to three beautiful young children, a lover of sport and with a heart of gold,” the family said.

Police later released a statement, as cited by Manchester Evening News, saying a mandatory referral to the police watchdog Independent Office for Police Conduct had been made.

The force added reports of assaults on a passenger and member of cabin crew were also submitted.

The watchdog said it will examine “the actions and decision-making of the officers involved to understand the events surrounding the man’s death”.

Jet2 confirmed the distressing incident in an initial statement saying an investigation had been launched.

“We can confirm that flight LS966 from Larnaca to Manchester requested a priority landing on (Monday 22nd June), due to a disruptive passenger incident,” the airline said.

“We can confirm that a passenger has been taken to hospital. As an investigation is underway, it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment at this time.”

The airline later issued a follow-up statement to send well wishes to the family following confirmation of Mr Kerr’s death.

“We are aware that a customer has sadly passed away, having been taken to hospital earlier this week,” a Jet2 spokesperson said.

“We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the customer’s friends and family. As investigations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment at this time.

“Mr Kerr has now been formally identified. In a statement issued through police, his family said: “Callum was a family man, father to three beautiful young children, a lover of sport and with a heart of gold.”