Passenger trouble sparks police alert on Warsaw-Alicante flight

A passenger on a Warsaw-Alicante flight caused enough concern for the crew to request police before the aircraft reached Spain, with Alicante Airport preparing for officers to meet the plane on arrival. The crew contacted air traffic controllers during the flight to report a “conflictive passenger” and said they required police when the aircraft arrived at Alicante.

The controllers then coordinated the intervention at the airport, according to Spain’s air traffic control service. The request meant police were being arranged before the aircraft had reached its destination, allowing the airport response to be prepared while the flight was still in the air.

Police response arranged before landing

The available information does not say what the passenger had done to be described as “conflictive”. There are also no confirmed details of an assault, injuries or whether the passenger was arrested after landing. What is confirmed is that the crew considered the situation serious enough to ask for police assistance before reaching Alicante.

Air traffic control then coordinated the intervention at the airport and adjusted the aircraft’s route and approach to facilitate its arrival. The incident therefore appears to have been dealt with as a security and operational matter before the aircraft reached the runway, rather than leaving airport police to respond only after the passengers had disembarked.

Warsaw-Alicante is a busy connection

The flight was operating on an important international link between Poland and the Costa Blanca. Current September schedules so that there are currently 18 direct flights a week from Warsaw to Alicante, an average of three a day, operated by Ryanair and Wizz Air. The schedule includes flights from both Warsaw Chopin Airport and Warsaw Modlin Airport.  

The route is part of a much larger network connecting Alicante with Poland. Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport handled 1,023,583 passengers travelling to or from Poland in 2025, representing around 5.1 per cent of the airport’s total traffic and making Poland its fifth-largest international market. Warsaw was among those connections, alongside cities including Kraków, Gdańsk, Katowice, Poznań, Wrocław and Łódź. 

Polish tourism to Spain continues to grow

Poland has become an increasingly important source market for Spanish tourism, with the Costa Blanca particularly attractive to Polish visitors looking for sunshine, beaches and longer stays. The Spanish tourism industry has also been tracking continued growth from the Polish market, with Spain’s tourism authorities maintaining dedicated market reports and monitoring trends in Polish travel demand. 

The relationship between the two countries also extends beyond short holidays. Polish buyers have become increasingly prominent in Spain’s coastal property market, particularly on the Costa Blanca, with strong demand for homes that can be used for extended stays as well as holidays. 

Spaniards are travelling to Poland too

The flow of visitors also works in the opposite direction, with Poland attracting Spanish tourists for city breaks, cultural holidays and longer trips. Statistics Poland tracks Spain among the foreign markets visiting the country, while the country’s tourism statistics show millions of foreign visitors staying in Polish accommodation each year.

Poland recorded 21.4 million foreign visitors in 2025, up 8.5 per cent from 2024, according to preliminary figures from Statistics Poland. Foreign visitors spent 41.5 billion złoty in the country, 12.8 per cent more than a year earlier.  That two-way tourism relationship makes direct routes such as Alicante-Warsaw particularly significant, giving travellers in both countries a regular connection without the need for a stopover.

What happened to the passenger?

Despite the police request, authorities have not released details identifying the passenger or explaining the behaviour that led the crew to seek assistance. There is also no confirmed information about whether police ultimately arrested the passenger, removed them from the aircraft or took any further action after landing.

For now, the confirmed sequence is that the crew reported a “conflictive passenger” during the Warsaw-Alicante flight, requested police assistance at Alicante Airport and air traffic control coordinated the aircraft’s arrival so the intervention could take place.