A passenger was ejected from a Qantas flight after a confrontation near the bathroom escalated during the long-haul journey. The man, believed to be a New Zealander, was aboard the 18-hour QF21 service from Melbourne to Dallas when he allegedly caused a disturbance.
Incident Details
The aircraft was forced to divert to Tahiti, where the passenger was arrested and subsequently jailed in the capital, Papeete. Qantas confirmed to Daily Mail that the man has now been banned from flying on its aircraft.
Video of the altercation, captured by American comedian Mike Goldstein of The Hundred with Andy Lee fame, showed the man exiting a toilet and slurring to a clearly exasperated flight attendant that he 'was just about to walk out for a cigarette'. The flight attendant warned him to 'Behave yourself. There are kids everywhere'. Bizarrely, the man then asked the flight attendant if he was 'smoking weed'.
Escalation and Response
As the attendant attempted to escort the man back to his seat, he could be heard saying, 'Fk off, ct'. The flight attendant responded: 'If you don't behave yourself, we'll have to restrain you. And once you're restrained, you're restrained for the whole trip. Watch your language... You're carrying on like a bloody two-bob watch'.
A second man stepped in to physically restrain him and said he was being taken to sit at the back of the plane. The man responded, 'I was just taking a p**s'. In Mr Goldstein's footage, the man could be seen lying face-down at the back of the aircraft after it landed in Papeete.
Impact on Passengers
Mr Goldstein said the diversion added three hours to the journey, and many passengers missed their connecting flights after arriving in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday morning local time.
Qantas Statement
In a statement to Daily Mail, a Qantas spokesperson said: 'The safety of our customers and our crew is our number one priority and we have zero tolerance for disruptive or threatening behaviour on our flights. We're grateful to our crew and other passengers who assisted during the incident. The aircraft was refuelled and customers continued on their journey to Dallas, arriving Saturday morning. The passenger was issued a no fly ban on Qantas Group aircraft.'
