Ryanair criticized for inaction over racist incident on Barcelona flight

Airline Ryanair is under fire for not removing a passenger from a flight between Barcelona and London's Stansted airport on Friday, when he refused to sit next to a black woman and hurled racist insults at her, calling her a "black bastard" and a "stupid ugly cow."

Despite some passengers calling for the man to be removed from the plane, the flight attendants merely asked the 77-year-old woman to change seats.  

The incident was filmed by a passenger, who posted the video online. The video quickly went viral and prompted an avalanche of criticism of how the airline handled the situation.

The video shows the man insulting the woman and shouting at her to move seats, while the cabin crew initially do very little other than asking the man to calm down.

Statement: We are aware of this video and have reported this matter to Essex Police

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) October 21, 2018

On Twitter, the airline said on Sunday that it had seen the video and had reported the incident to the UK police. "As this is now a police matter, we cannot comment further," the firm added.

In a statement, the police said they understood the incident happened at Barcelona Airport, adding: "We are working closely with Ryanair and the Spanish authorities on the investigation."