Abusive passenger on Dubai-bound Qantas flight faces ban

A passenger who witnessed the drama unfold, took to Twitter to recount the incident he described as “a bit of a nightmare”.

by

Kelly Clarke

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Published: Thu 12 Dec 2013, 1:20 AM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 6:14 PM

An abusive passenger on board a Dubai-bound Qantas flight, which had to return to London just one hour after take-off, may not be able to fly with the carrier in the future.

In line with the Australian flag carrier’s policy, the man, who is now believed to be at a local hospital, may face a permanent ban following the incident which took place on board the 9.15pm QF2 flight from London Heathrow to Dubai on Monday.

“At this stage we are uncertain as to whether the passenger will be allowed to fly again,” a Qantas spokeswoman told Khaleej Times.

According to a statement from Qantas, the passenger was offloaded at about 11.50pm local time due to “threatening behaviour” mid-flight.

A passenger who witnessed the drama unfold, took to Twitter to recount the incident he described as “a bit of a nightmare”.

In response to a question from @rebeccathoughts, who was also on board but didn’t get a look at the man, @LawriePlatt3 described the man as being “30-35 years old, short, slightly round”. He said he saw the passenger being whisked away.

A spokesperson for the airline said the A380 aircraft was met by local authorities when it touched down at Heathrow and according to other media reports, the man was immediately taken away in an ambulance. The reason behind the unidentified man’s disruptive behaviour remains unknown.

A spokesman from Hillingdon Hospital, close to Heathrow Airport, told Khaleej Times he was unable to confirm whether the man had been admitted to the hospital due to confidentiality reasons.

The aircraft landed safely in Dubai early on Tuesday afternoon, and the spokesperson underscored the airline’s strict rules relating to customer behaviour.

“This type of disruption inconveniences our customers and comes at significant cost to Qantas, but we take a zero tolerance approach to aggressive behaviour on board.”

The incident comes just days after Qantas received shock profit warnings, and on Tuesday shares struck a record low falling as much as four per cent — its lowest level since it was privatised in 1995.

kelly@khaleejtimes.com


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