Chaos as Jetstar flight is forced to divert after leaving Melbourne – as woman is dragged off plane
A woman has been hauled off an international Jetstar flight after her alleged ‘erratic’ behaviour forced pilots to divert the plane.
Australian Federal Police officers were alerted to an incident onboard flight JQ17, which was travelling from Melbourne to Phuket, Thailand, on Sunday.
Police allege the 37-year-old woman acted in ‘an increasingly erratic manner’ that escalated to ‘verbally abusing passengers and cabin crew’.
The plane was forced to divert to Perth Airport where AFP officers boarded and removed the woman after she failed to exit the aircraft as directed.
The woman was charged with behaving in an offensive and disorderly manner endangering safety on an aircraft.
She will appear in court on May 11.
The maximum penalty for this offence is a $16,500 fine.
Any kind of aggressive or anti-social behaviour on a flight can pose a direct threat to the safety of the aircraft, and passengers onboard,’ AFP Acting Superintendent Peter Brindal said.
A Jetstar flight bound for Thailand was forced to divert to Perth on Sunday due to a passenger’s allegedly ‘erratic’ behaviour
The plane left Melbourne and was bound for Thailand when it was forced to divert (stock image)
‘The AFP works closely with the airline industry to intervene if anyone interferes with the safety of workers or the public in, or around, an airport, or on flights.’
A Jetstar spokesman said that the airline had ‘zero tolerance’ for disruptive behaviour.
‘The safety of our customers and crew is our number one priority,’ he said.
‘We apologise to customers for the inconvenience and thank them for their understanding and patience.’
