A mother on board a Jetstar plane who was forced to turn around mid-flight due to a disruptive passenger “harassing” and threatening distraught staff has spoken out about the ordeal.
Jetstar flight JQ964 from Brisbane to Perth returned to the Queensland capital around 11.30pm on Tuesday night, two and a half hours after it departed.
A passenger who was on board with her two young children said the flight was rejected due to “some moments of panic.”
She claimed an unruly passenger was “harassing some of the women” before he was transferred. the back of the plane.
“A flight attendant mentioned that she had been threatening… we don’t know exactly what she was saying, but the flight attendant was talking to a passenger in front of us and was quite distraught and upset,” he said. Western Australia.
The passenger spoke to other travelers on board, who claimed to have seen the man follow a young flight attendant down the aisle and give the seated passengers dirty looks.
“I tried not to look back to see what was going on, but the flight attendant walked by at one point… and she seemed pretty tearful and upset, and meanwhile the guy was literally standing behind her,” he added.
A disruptive passenger on a Jetstar flight traveling from Brisbane to Perth forced the flight to turn back
Perth-bound passengers spent another night in Brisbane after their Jetstar flight changed
The passenger felt sorry for the flight attendant because she was young and “was following her the whole way.”
He also stated that the man was drunk and smelled of alcohol.
“Another passenger also had an altercation with him and I was trying to calm him down, but he wouldn’t listen to him either,” he said.
Less than three hours into the flight, the crew “discreetly” informed the passengers that they should prepare for landing.
The woman said no one knew they would land in Brisbane.
The man was escorted off the plane by police when he landed back in Brisbane, where he was banned from flying.
It is unknown if the man faced any further action.
A Jetstar spokesperson thanked passengers for their “understanding” and said the airline’s number one priority is safety.
The passengers were transported to a hotel for the night and boarded a “rescue” flight the next morning.
“We really appreciated customers’ understanding and patience while our crew managed the situation in the air and, once back in Brisbane, worked to get them back on their way,” a Jetstar spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
“We will never tolerate disruptive behavior on our aircraft, as safety is our number one priority.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Australian Federal Police for further comment.