Callum Kerr died after being restrained on a jet2.com flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, to Manchester, with Greater Manchester police saying officers were called at around 2.25am on Monday 22 June 2026. The case was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after Kerr died following police contact.
Greater Manchester police said a man was behaving aggressively towards passengers and crew on the inbound flight, and that another passenger and a member of cabin crew were assaulted. Kerr’s family said: “Callum was a family man, father to three beautiful young children, a lover of sport and with a heart of gold.”
Manchester airport arrival
Police said officers boarded the aircraft on arrival at Manchester airport and found the man being restrained by passengers and aircrew at the rear of the plane. They said officers used handcuffs, found he was unresponsive, and began CPR. Paramedics took him to hospital, where he died on the afternoon of 23 June 2026.
Ch Supt Mike Allen said: “We know passengers and aircrew worked to detain the man to bring the incident to an end. Our detectives are investigating this to understand the full circumstances.”
IOPC and GMP inquiries
The IOPC said its work will focus on the actions of police, while a separate GMP investigation will examine the actions of the members of the public involved. It also said, “At this stage, we have established Mr Kerr, 35, was being restrained by members of the public on board the flight from Cyprus when five police officers boarded the plane at Manchester airport in the early hours of Monday.”
The same account adds the complication at the heart of the case: Kerr was already being restrained by passengers and aircrew when police arrived, then was handcuffed and later found unresponsive. The sequence now under review is the handover from restraint on board to police contact, CPR, hospital care and death.
Jet2 response
Jet2 said: “We are aware that a customer has sadly passed away, having been taken to hospital earlier this week.” The airline added: “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.”
For passengers and crew on the flight, the investigations now run on two tracks: one into police action and one into the conduct of the members of the public who restrained Kerr. The remaining question is how the incident moved from restraint on board to a fatal outcome after police arrived.
