A frightening situation unfolded thousands of feet in the air when two passengers were reportedly restrained during a flight from Australia to the Middle East after allegedly making violent threats toward passengers and crew — and on a flight that took off on September 11, no less.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, and multiple other outlets in Australia, the Virgin Australia VA7 flight operated by Qatar Airways departed Melbourne Airport around 4 p.m. local time on Friday, September 11 — bound for Doha, Qatar.
But that’s when an incident started where two men reportedly became more and more agitated and aggressive, even leading to threatening and spitting on (!!!) crew members while the flight was thousands of feet in the air.
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One female passenger told the SMH that the men appeared “extremely agitated and restless” almost immediately after boarding:
“They were repeatedly getting in and out of their seats, moving around the cabin and into my personal space, and touching or moving my belongings.”
She also said:
“They were also repeatedly rummaging through their luggage and saying they were looking for items they had apparently misplaced.”
WTF…
Things reportedly became much more serious roughly six hours before landing, when the men allegedly began arguing and fighting. Footage shared on Instagram by Australian media member Jacqui Felgate appeared to show crew members struggling to restrain them.
One witness later described the ordeal to Felgate as “terrifying,” alleging the men threatened to hurt and shoot people with a gun they had supposedly brought on board the aircraft.
Whoa…
Some witnesses also claimed that they saw some flight attendants were physically abused during the confrontation.
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Another witness alleged the passengers were “headbutting and spitting” at crew members and said each man reportedly required at least six people to restrain him, noting:
“Terrifying and disgraceful what the poor flight attendants had to deal with.”
Qatar Airways confirmed the incident in a statement to People on Saturday, saying:
“We can confirm that two male passengers were involved in a physical altercation on board flight VA7 from Melbourne to Doha on Friday, operated by Qatar Airways. Both passengers were restrained and, upon arrival in Doha, were handed over to local authorities. The safety and wellbeing of our crew and passengers remain our highest priority.”
Thankfully, the aircraft made it safely to Doha, where authorities took over. The two men were arrested after landing in the Qatar city, and will now face consequences there.
But for everyone aboard that flight, what should have been a routine journey became an experience they will likely never forget.
So scary…
[Image via MEGA/WENN]