A Qantas plane travelling from Melbourne to Dallas was briefly diverted to Tahiti over the weekend to remove man who allegedly bit a flight attendant.
Fellow passengers and crew members rushed to help the staff member who was allegedly attacked by the man during the 18-hour QF21 flight. This masthead understands no serious injuries were caused.
The plane was forced to divert briefly to Tahiti’s capital city of Papeete, where the man was taken off the aircraft, met by local authorities and issued a no-fly ban by Qantas.
After refuelling, the plane departed and arrived at its destination several hours late on Saturday morning Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).
In a statement, a Qantas spokesperson said the safety of their customers and crew was their priority.
“We have zero tolerance for disruptive or threatening behaviour on our flights,” they said.
The incident followed a commotion on a Canberra-to-Perth flight last month, where a man was charged after allegedly kicking a flight attendant and biting a fellow passenger.
The 45-year-old Queanbeyan man allegedly shouted, swore and ignored instructions on the flight, Nine News reported.
An Australian Federal Police (AFP) spokesperson said the man kicked and pushed the seat in front of him and became aggressive to the woman in the seat.
In January, the AFP alleged a Canberra woman on a flight to Perth weeks earlier had behaved erratically towards another passenger as the plane prepared to take off, before assaulting a cabin crew member.
The 52-year-old woman allegedly forcibly grabbed the flight attendant’s arm and head.
AFP officers boarded the plane, escorted the woman off the flight at Perth Airport and charged her over the incident.
At the time, AFP Acting Superintendent Hayley Faithfull said any aggressive or anti-social behaviour on a flight could pose a direct threat to the plane and inconvenience passengers.
“The AFP works closely with our airline partners to intervene if someone’s behaviour interferes with the safety of workers or the public on flights using major Australian airports,” she said.
The man involved in the alleged incident on the Melbourne to Dallas flight is understood not to be Australian.
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