An irate passenger has been arrested and taken into custody after he shut down Manchester International Airport in the north of England when he started a bridge protest, causing traffic in and out of Terminal 2 to come to a halt as police rushed to close down roads as they tried to get him down from the edge.
Identified only as Jack from the Wakefield area of Greater Manchester, the passenger was so angry that he had been refused onboard his flight to Jamaica that he started the bridge protest in a bid to win a full refund for his holiday.
✈️ Jack from Wakefield caused chaos at Manchester Airport today when he was prevented from flying after ‘peeing’ himself he claimed
— Yapp (@YappAppLtd) May 27, 2026
Big delays hit Manchester Airport this afternoon after a police incident closed the drop-off and pick-up areas at Terminal 2.
Passengers ditched… pic.twitter.com/tuv8YD0tyH
Warning: Very strong language
In an astonishing development, airport bosses who were desperate to end the protest and get the terminal back up and running, brought the full £3,000 cash refund to Jack in an attempt to get him away from the edge of the bridge.
Jack was recording the drama that he had caused and released the expletive-laden episode on social media before Greater Manchester Police eventually arrested him.
According to Jack’s own account of what happened, he had urinated himself in the airport, and this led to the airline that was meant to be flying him to Jamaica to refuse him boarding as he was unfit to fly.
In a fit of rage, Jack left the terminal building and climbed into the wrong side of the safety barriers on a bridge that goes over the main roadway into Terminal 2.
Jack was quickly spotted and, fearing for his safety, emergency services closed down access roads to Terminal 2. Passengers desperate to catch their flights were seen abandoning vehicles as they tried to walk the rest of the way to the terminal as a massive traffic jam formed.
The incident started at around 2 pm on Wednesday, but even the offer of a full cash refund wasn’t enough to lure Jack off the ledge.
While accepting that he would inevitably be arrested, Jack refused to come away from the edge of the bridge “out of principle.” Police negotiators repeatedly told him that he could only keep the cash on condition that he stopped his protest, but their words fell on deaf ears.
Jack threatened to maintain his protest until 10 pm on Wednesday, and at one point, he even suggested he could go without food for at least four days. In the end, however, Jack was in custody just two hours after he first scaled the barrier.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Following an incident at Manchester Airport Terminal 2 today (Wednesday 27 May 2026) that has now been resolved, we have arrested a man in his 40s on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and a public order offence.”
The statement added: “He has been taken into custody to be questioned by officers.”
Manchester Airport warned passengers that traffic into and out of Terminal 2 remained busier than normal on Tuesday evening. A spokesperson said the airport was “grateful to passengers for their understanding and patience this afternoon.”
