Brit pinned to the ground after punching two taxi drivers at Palma Airport

A taxi driver’s telling-off for jumping a red pedestrian light was meant to end there. Instead, a British tourist punched two drivers, dented a cab’s bonnet and door, and needed several bystanders to hold him to the ground until police arrived.

How it started: jaywalking and a passenger door wrenched open

The trouble began just outside the terminal doors at Palma de Mallorca Airport’s arrivals taxi rank, revamped last year to speed up pick-ups. A taxi driver waiting in the rank had words with a group of pedestrians who had crossed while the light was red against them. One of the group, a British man, broke away from the others and walked over to the driver’s cab. He proceeded to pull open the passenger door while the vehicle was still moving. 

Punched in the face for asking him to explain himself

The driver pulled over and asked what he thought he was doing. He was then punched in the face and fell to the ground, according to police accounts of the incident.

A second taxi driver who rushed over to help his colleague was also consequently punched in the stomach and chest. While the assault was under way, the tourist repeatedly struck the bonnet, front door and wing of the second taxi, leaving around €400 of damage across several dents.

Bystanders had to pin him down until security arrived

A third taxi driver, helped by several passers-by who had witnessed the kerfuffle, managed to hold the tourist until airport security staff reached the scene. Security personnel and National Police officers reportedly had to pin him to the ground because of how agitated he had become by that point. Both drivers needed treatment for pain at a health centre afterwards. Police have charged the tourist, whose age has not been released, with two counts of assault and one of causing damage to property. He was taken into custody at the scene.

Another British arrest to add to Mallorca’s summer count

The case is the latest in a run of arrests involving British tourists on the island. In July, a man was arrested in Mallorca over an alleged assault on a Ryanair flight attendant, and Palma Airport has separately dealt with British tourists accused of shoplifting from its terminal shops.

Taxi drivers working the arrivals rank are often the first people new arrivals deal with after stepping off a flight, and confrontations there can escalate quickly in the extreme heat and crowds of the summer season.

Police have released no further details about the tourist, and it remains unclear when, or if, he will appear in court over the case.