A woman who was on a flight turned back by an unruly passenger has slammed Jetstar as ‘disgraceful’ after claiming the airline tried to bump her off a replacement flight but ‘was ‘forced’ to let her come aboard.
Ashleigh Baker was on flight JQ43 to Bali on Monday morning, which was forced to turn back after just a few hours in the air due to an unruly female passenger who eventually had to be restrained and tied up.
Ms Baker now claims she was barred from getting on the replacement flight from Bali to Melbourne the next morning.
Ashleigh Baker was on the Jetstar flight forced to turn around due to an unruly passenger on Monday and now claims she was almost ruled out of the replacement flight
In a video posted to TikTok, Ms Baker says she arrived at Melbourne Airport two hours before her rescheduled flight to Bali and checked in online with only hand luggage.
She said that after going through customs, she waited at the boarding gate where Jetstar staff appeared about 45 minutes before the 7pm flight. 10 and delivered her some unwelcome news.
“I had been put on the 6pm flight bearing in mind that every single passenger from yesterday’s flight is on this flight at 10am,” Ms Baker said.
‘Jetstar has made a mistake.
‘I told them the situation and they said there’s nothing they can do, I’m not on this flight.
‘This is completely outrageous behaviour. I’ve lost two days of my vacation not to mention money that I don’t see myself getting compensated for.
A Jetstar flight to Bali was forced to turn back and land in Melbourne after a passenger went on a tirade and even slammed the cockpit door
‘I’m not usually one to complain and I know these things happen but this is absolutely ridiculous and I’m devastated.’
Mrs. Baker told that Yahoo! News that she had a boarding pass that got her through security and immigration, but it was her partner who noticed that the number appeared to be wrong.
“It was only when my partner asked the flight number and (we were told) “it takes off at 18 that I realized there were two flights,” she said.
Jetstar had added the extra flight to account for all those turned away on Monday and it had been pushed back to 6pm. 18.00 that day.
Mrs. Baker said that after being told she was on the later flight that she ‘went to border security’ to ask for help and they called the Jetstar desk.
She says border security ‘essentially forced them to put me on the plane and gave me ‘immigration clearance”.
‘I had so many fellow passengers speaking up for me and everyone clapping for me when I came on because they all knew what was happening.’
Jetstar has disputed Ms Baker’s claims, saying she asked to be put on another flight before changing her mind
However, Jetstar claims Ms Baker had made the decision to change flights and then sat back on the 10am flight.
“All affected customers including Ms Baker were moved to our replacement aircraft the following morning,” Jetstar told Daily Mail Australia on Saturday.
‘Mrs Baker subsequently requested several flight changes which we assisted her with.
“She later asked to be moved back to her original rescheduled flight, which we arranged.”
Ms Baker said Jetstar could “do better” by offering compensation but “chose not to”.
She replied to people on TikTok that she had engaged her lawyer to seek compensation after losing one of the three out of four nights she was supposed to spend in Bali.
She also told another person that the woman who forced Monday’s flight to turn around should never have been allowed on board because her bad behavior had been seen at the airport.
“She was erratic and punched people who spat on trash cans, and she was still allowed on board,” Baker said.
‘At the start of the flight she thought her phone had been stolen.
‘She was banging on the cockpit door, she was getting aggressive with people. She was sitting in the back of the plane and was apparently aggressive towards a lot of people out there.’
Mrs Baker said she saw the woman push past the host pushing the food cart and telling them to ‘f**^ off’.
A TikTok video taken by Ms Baker showed the woman standing up and shouting obscenities into the face of another passenger.
“I think the comment that the gentleman made was ‘sit down’ and ‘thanks for ruining the flight’, which I think is very fair, and she got angry like that,” Baker said .
‘For the people who asked if she was right, she was absolutely not.’
Ms Baker said she did not know the women’s ‘story’ but said the situation ‘was terrifying for many children on board and many adults as well’.
“I’m certainly a big advocate for mental health, but there’s no excuse for that kind of aggression and for putting people in that terrifying situation,” Ms Baker said.
‘I absolutely do not blame any of the cabin crew.
“If anything it showed me, they don’t have the proper support or training to deal with these situations that I think are really dangerous for them.”
Ms Baker said five passengers had to help cabin crew restrain the woman, who was eventually zip-tied and left in a back seat.
“She was also supposed to be laughing about turning the plane around,” Ms Baker said.
“Also, just to add…her phone ended up sitting in her seat.”
Jetstar apologized for the inconvenience following the incident.
“The captain decided to return to Melbourne for assistance from the Australian Federal Police after a passenger became disruptive just under two hours into the flight,” the airline said in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.
‘We know this was a difficult experience for other customers and our team members and we thank those who helped with the situation.
“Due to the circumstances several crew members were unable to continue flying and the flight has been rescheduled for 10am tomorrow.
“We will provide accommodation for all customers who need it and we will cover other reasonable expenses, including meals.
‘The safety of our customers and crew is our priority.’
The Australian Federal Police are currently investigating the incident.