Elderly British woman taken off the plane by armed Turkish police over tuna sandwich dispute

bodrum - A 79-year-old grandmother was removed from a plane by the police in Turkey with drawn guns after a trip to Bodrum, Turkey. The woman refused to pay nearly ten euros for a half soggy, half frozen tuna sandwich during the flight.

Lily Letfield, a 79-year-old retired British woman, was on her way to the Turkish resort town of Bodrum. The region is known as a holiday destination with several (luxury) all-inclusive hotels. The grandmother boarded the plane with excitement from the British budget airline Jet2, but the atmosphere changed on board after ordering a tuna sandwich. The mother and her daughter expected a piece of salmon or a vitello tonnato for the relatively high price, but instead they got a soggy tuna sandwich.

The €9 tuna sandwich, equivalent to about €11, was described by the pair as nothing more than a soggy and cold, half frozen piece of bread with some tuna on top.

Tensions escalated and the woman refused to eat the sandwich. The staff reminded the elderly woman that they were an airline, not a restaurant. According to the airline staff, the situation got out of hand when the stewards asked the pair to keep quiet. Their response? 'I can talk as much as I want!'

During the commotion on the flight from the UK to Bodrum, one of the stewards called the police at the Turkish airport. Upon landing, the pair was greeted by the authorities. 'They were waiting for us at the entrance with drawn weapons, as if we were criminals,' Letfield explains. 'We didn't know what to do. I looked at other passengers and said, 'I think I just got arrested because of a tuna sandwich. I felt like a criminal!'

The elderly woman and her daughter were quickly released, but the vacation in Turkey was already ruined by the incident. The four-day holiday was spent in the hotel room. 'It ruined our vacation. And all because of a sandwich on the plane,' says the grandmother.

The pair claims to have spent more than sixty euros on wine during the flight to calm down. Later, a complaint was filed against the airline Jet2, but due to the 'unacceptable behavior' of the mother and daughter, they received nothing more than a warning. Such a follow-up step could lead to a ban on flying with all British airlines.

Jet2's meals on board are not known to be very good. The 'low cost' airline operates on a 'no-nonsense' principle. Cheap flying with as little premium service as possible.

A spokesperson for Jet2 confirmed the arrest, but mainly focused on the purchased amounts of alcohol at the airport. There was enough consumption during the flight, which the company does not allow. The spokesperson cites this as the main reason the police in Turkey, with drawn guns, awaited the pair.

Nevertheless, Letfield and her daughter flew back to Stansted, one of the airports in London, on November 7.