Irish MMA veteran Sinead Kavanagh who once trained with Conor McGregor was taken into custody after a confrontation with Spanish police officers on a Ryanair plane preparing to depart Gran Canaria for Dublin.
The 39 year old featherweight competitor spent Monday night in a holding cell and appeared in court Tuesday morning. She has been released on bail while authorities review the situation.
The incident unfolded around 7:30 PM on Monday as the aircraft prepared for takeoff from Gran Canaria’s international airport. Local outlet Canarias 7 reported that the pilot requested police assistance because the crew could not manage Kavanagh’s behavior on board.
Video published by Atlantico Hoy showed a woman shouting in English while grappling with two Civil Guard officers in the aisle. One officer appeared to be female.
Spanish reports stated that the officers involved had injuries and are now on sick leave. Canarias 7 claimed Kavanagh resisted and made contact with the officers multiple times which left them needing time away from work.
After backup arrived four police officers escorted Kavanagh to an airport holding cell. The pilot determined she would not continue on the plane.
A Civil Guard spokesperson confirmed that an arrest took place but declined to name anyone involved.
“I’m not at liberty to confirm the identities of those passengers. What I can say is the pilot requested police presence because of two passengers who were causing problems on board a plane that was about to take off.”
The spokesperson said officers boarded the aircraft to identify and remove the disruptive passengers.
“One of those passengers resisted and got into a tussle with officers and ended up being arrested. She spent the night in a police cell and was taken to court this morning.”
When asked about the specific charge the spokesperson said it was
“for disobedience towards a police officer”
“a tussle on board the plane but no assault as such.”
Ryanair issued a statement on the matter.
“The crew of this flight from Gran Canaria to Dublin (24 Nov) called ahead for police assistance prior to departure after two passengers became disruptive onboard. These passengers were offloaded before this flight continued to Dublin.”
The airline added a reminder of its conduct policy.
“Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behaviour ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a respectful and stress free environment without unnecessary disruption.”
Kavanagh is from Inchicore in Dublin and has a long competitive background. She became a five time national boxing champion and competed with Katie Taylor on the Irish team at the 2021 World Championships. After moving to mixed martial arts she achieved notable success and held a number 10 ranking in Women’s Featherweight according during several periods between April 2021 and March 2022.
Spanish national media and Gran Canaria outlets covered the situation extensively and authorities are continuing their review.
