Two men were restrained by fellow passengers and Qatar Airways crew, then zip-tied to their seats, after allegedly assaulting flight attendants and claiming to have a firearm aboard a flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Doha, Qatar, on Friday afternoon.
The men allegedly spat at and headbutted flight attendants before claiming to possess a gun, triggering an ordeal that lasted hours on Qatar Airways flight VA7.
Jacqueline Felgate, a passenger on board, filmed the confrontation and said the men were "aggressive and agitated." "Really big props to the Qatar flight attendants. They were hands on for about 10 hours straight," Felgate wrote.
Footage showed staff among a group of as many as seven people working together to control the men before authorities boarded the aircraft. Zip ties were needed to restrain both men in their seats, it is understood.
Passengers applaud as men are removed
Another passenger said everyone on board applauded when authorities arrived to escort the men off the plane. A separate witness described the incident as "terrifying" and called the behaviour of some passengers toward staff "disgraceful."
That witness said the confrontation was especially unsettling because it happened on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks in the United States. The 2001 attacks, carried out by the al-Qaeda terrorist network, killed around 3,000 Americans and remain the deadliest terror attack in the country's history.
Qatar Airways confirms altercation
A Qatar Airways spokesman told news.com.au that the safety and wellbeing of crew and passengers remained the airline's top priority. "We can confirm that two male passengers were involved in a physical altercation on board flight VA7 from Melbourne to Doha, operated by Qatar Airways," the spokesman said.
"Both passengers were restrained and, upon arrival in Doha, were handed over to local authorities," the spokesman added.
Qatar Airways is Qatar's national carrier, based in Doha, and operates long-haul routes connecting Australia with the Middle East, Europe and beyond.
