CNN- A Jetstar flight from Bali, Indonesia, to Melbourne, Australia, was forced to return after a passenger attempted to open an airplane door during the middle of the flight over the Indian Ocean, the airline confirmed on Tuesday.
The incident occurred on the evening of Monday, March 31, when the disruptive passenger tried to lift the door handle, which alerted the crew. The airline said that the passenger also acted aggressively towards the crew members.
Our aircraft diverted back to Denpasar (Bali airport) last night after a disruptive passenger attempted to open one of the aircraft doors and was abusive to our crew,” Jetstar said.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicated that the aircraft turned back around an hour into the flight. Upon landing in Bali, the individual was removed from the aircraft by local authorities.
Jetstar did not specify how many passengers and crew were on board but guaranteed that safety is always their number one priority.
“The safety and well-being of our customers and crew is our top priority, and we appreciate how they handled the situation,” the airline went on.
Disruptive passenger cases have been a growing problem for carriers worldwide. Such incidents in the past have included passengers opening emergency exits, physically assaulting flight attendants, and even attempting to open doors mid-flight.
Aviation authorities have been enforcing tighter policies to deal with such incidents. A man on an American Airlines flight from Milwaukee to Dallas was federally charged last year after he opened an airplane door during a flight and injured a flight attendant. Other passengers had to restrain him with duct tape.
In 2023, a passenger on an Asiana Airlines flight opened an emergency exit during landing, later informing police that he had felt suffocated and needed to get off quickly. In response, the airline suspended sales of seats in proximity to emergency exits on Airbus A321 planes.
Jetstar once again affirmed its zero-tolerance approach to this type of behaviour, asserting, “This kind of unacceptable behaviour will never be tolerated on our flights.”
