An Air New Zealand passenger has been arrested for an alleged assault on a crew member that led to the international flight being diverted.
Flight NZ176 from Perth to Auckland was forced to land in Melbourne at 1.40am on Wednesday; about three hours of flight.
Shortly afterwards, Australian Federal Police officers boarded the plane and removed a 23-year-old New Zealander.
He was charged with one count of assault on crew affecting the performance of their duty and was scheduled to appear at Broadmeadows Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Passengers waited on the tarmac for 90 minutes before reboarding and continuing to Auckland.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson said while the crew handled the incident well, it would have been a confrontation for passengers.
“Incidents like this are concerning for our customers and our people and we have zero tolerance for this type of behavior on our aircraft,” said spokesman David Morgan.
The incident came four days after a bomb threat on another Air New Zealand flight NZ-247 as it approached Sydney from Wellington at around 4.50pm on Saturday.
The flight was cleared to land and landed safely at 5:37 p.m., where it was met by more than 30 emergency services teams on the runway, including the tactical operations unit, paramedics and firefighters.
The man was allegedly drunk and rowdy during the international flight. Image: Australian Federal Police
Australian federal police removed the 23-year-old from the flight. Image: Australian Federal Police.
The A320 plane, carrying 154 employees and passengers, was isolated on a separate runway at the airport for about an hour before being transported to a terminal.
An AFP spokesperson said the incident did not pose any danger to the public but that “investigations continue.”
