July 9, 2019 – British media report on a ‘nightmare’ flight from Manchester to Zadar, full of drunk, rowdy and even vomiting passengers – 3 arrests have been made.
The party season is well and truly underway, and The Daily Mail reports on a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Zadar, which had a large number of drunken Brits heading to the Hard Dance Festival on Zrce Beach on the island of Pag.
The British paper reports that Aneta Zukow, 24, and boyfriend, Piotr Nesan, 32 were on the flight with Zukow commenting:
‘It was like being in a jungle with wild animals,’ she said. ‘It was hell on earth. It was the worst flight of my life. It was absolutely appalling
“The only way I can describe it is like being in a nightclub without the music 10,000ft above the ground.”
The flight was delayed from Manchester due to the behaviour of the clearly drunk passengers, one of whom managed to vomit in the aisle before passing out. Seatbelts were largely ignored by many as the cabin crew were far from in total control. Croatian police were waiting when the flight when the plane landed in Zadar, and three passengers were arrested. Lots more detail, quotes and photos in the link to the Daily Mail above – I will leave you with the video below.
The issue of drunk Brits surfaces every year in Croatia these days, and Zrce Beach and the town of Novalja has been at the centre of much of the story.
In 2017, the Mayor of Novalja, Ante Dabo, accepted an invitation from the BBC to film a reality show about young British tourists in Novalja, called The Brits are Coming. He professed himself satisfied with the results for the promotion of his destination when I asked him about it at a conference in Zagreb in 2017. Judge for yourself – below is one of the BBC highlights from one episode.
A few weeks before allowing the BBC series, the results of which he was satisfied with, he was quoted in the British media:
“I have mixed feelings of sadness, bitterness and responsibility as a mayor of this town who is deceived and humiliated by barbarism and the unskilled portion of the young English guests.”
Does Croatia want or need this kind of tourism? No.
Are the Brits involved a disgrace? Absolutely.
But if you don’t want that kind of tourism, why agree to a BBC series which specifically targets them? It was obviously a very effective promotion.
To learn more about the gorgeous island of Pag, check out the Total Croatia Pag in a Page guide.
