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A disruptive Qantas passenger who assaulted crew members has been fined more than $25,000 and banned from flying Qantas.
The incident occurred on QF652, a redeye service from Perth to Brisbane, in July last year. The man attacked crew members after they confiscated a flask of alcohol that he had carried on board. The Airbus A330-200 then turned back to Perth around an hour into the flight so the passenger could be removed by police. The flight eventually arrived in Brisbane the next morning around 3 hours late.
The disruptive Qantas passenger, who was under the influence of both alcohol and drugs at the time, was last week ordered to pay $15,207 in compensation to Qantas. He was also fined an additional $10,500. The ban from Qantas flights will last 25 years and covers all Qantas Group airlines, including Jetstar.
As some members point out, such a ban could have serious consequences for a FIFO (fly-in, fly-out) worker. It would also be hugely inconvenient for someone with friends or family living in a destination served only by Qantas flights.
Being a fly in / fly out worker I guess will really stuff up his future work options.
Hes screwed if the extended family lives on Lord Howe Is, he’ll have to swim.
Behaviour that threatens the safety of other passengers and crew is generally taken very seriously. Not only is it a crime, but those responsible are often banned from the airline and liable for costs resulting from aircraft diversions. In 2012, another disruptive Qantas passenger was similarly ordered to pay Qantas over $18,000 in costs. The woman was also banned from flying Qantas for 10 years after her disruptive behaviour forced the flight bound for Wellington to return to Melbourne.
AFF members have been caught up in similar incidents in the past. One member’s flight from Thailand to Australia was diverted to Cairns to offload a disruptive passenger.
I had similar a few years ago where we made an unscheduled stop in CNS on the way back from BKK. Think he got away with a good behaviour warning that time.
Our members support the tough penalties applied to unruly airline passengers. These situations are particularly difficult to deal with because everyone is stuck on board the aircraft until it can land.
I have very little time for people acting like this on a plane. I know some people don’t travel well and there are people with medical / mental issues however a flight is not the place to interfere with crew or equipment. You behave like this then there needs to be consequences. I’m not sure of lifetime ban if this is only time / out of character but a 5-10 year ban with reinstatement with understanding conditional on never creating any kind of problem again (even low level).
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Violent QFd passenger to pay $26,000 for flight disruption
