Qantas flight to Texas diverted to Tahiti after alleged drunk passenger bites cabin crew
Wild footage captured an aerial drama on an international Qantas flight where a man who allegedly bit a crew member was kicked off the plane after intervention.
A Dallas-bound Qantas flight from Melbourne on Friday was diverted to Tahiti; where the belligerent passenger was handed over to local police and banned from entering the airline.
Alleged footage of the passenger in the front row, posted to social media by comedian Mike Goldstein, shows the man still wearing his seatbelt as he staggers out of the restroom.
The passenger asks the flight attendant if he smokes weed and continues to swear at the staff and passengers.
“We need you to behave yourself,” says the Qantas worker.
The passenger can be heard saying, “Dude, I was about to go out to buy cigarettes.”
“Pick up that wrist lock again (sic), there are problems.”
The swearing continues as Qantas staff tell him to behave, and several passengers stand up and try to check on him.
The person who recorded the video said that the passenger was drunk in the clip.
The footage then shows Tahitian police arriving on the ship, and the camera pans down the corridor to show the man lying face down on the ground.
There is no evidence of any biting in the images.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the passenger was not an Australian citizen.
“The safety of our customers and crew is our number one priority and we have zero tolerance for disruptive or threatening behavior on our flights,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
The Melbourne-Dallas flight was diverted to Papeete, the capital of Tahiti.
The plane was refueled and landed in Texas a few hours late.
The passenger was completely banned from Qantas.
