Jet2 comments after dad was restrained, then died on chaotic flight

Bare-knuckle boxer Callum Kerr was handcuffed by police on board the Jet2 flight, but died a short time after.

An airline has released a statement after a boxer died after he was restrained by passengers on board a chaotic flight.

Father-of-three Callum Kerr and his girlfriend had boarded the Jet2 flight from Larnaca in Cyprus to Manchester, England on June 21.

Witnesses told how he became ‘disruptive’ during the flight after reportedly drinking alcohol beforehand.

Police said officers were called to Manchester Airport at 2.25am on Monday, June 22, after reports of a man ‘behaving aggressively towards passengers and crew’.

It was reported he had been restrained by others passengers before police boarded the aircraft.

Police boarded the flight to find Mr Kerr ‘being restrained by passengers and aircrew at the rear of the plane’, reports the M.E.N..

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The force said officers used handcuffs to detain him, but ‘quickly identified he was unresponsive, through the provision of first aid’.

CPR was commenced and he was taken to hospital, where he died on Tuesday afternoon (June 23).

Mr Kerr, from Warrington, was 35 and a father-of-three.

In an update issued on Thursday, Greater Manchester Police said it had made a mandatory referral to police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

In a statement, the force said two reports of an assault – on a passenger and a member of cabin crew – were made.

Jet2 has now issued a new statement following the incident.

A spokesperson said: “We are aware that a customer has sadly passed away, having been taken to hospital earlier this week.

“We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the customer’s friends and family. As investigations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment at this time.”

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Mr Kerr has now been formally identified. In a statement issued through police, his family said: “Callum was a family man, father to three beautiful young children, a lover of sport and with a heart of gold.”

GMP said the IOPC was ‘investigating the actions of our officers’, while detectives from its Major Incident Team were investigating the circumstances on the flight.

Mr Kerr was not under arrest. No arrests have been made.

The police watchdog said its investigation would ‘look at the actions and decision-making of the officers involved to understand the events surrounding the man’s death’.