Bali bound Virgin flight forced to divert due to unruly passengers

arrested woman escorted with an airport worker
By Zach Havard


Three unruly passengers have been removed from a Bali-bound flight after becoming increasingly intoxicated and vaping on board, allegedly.

A Virgin Australia flight travelling from Brisbane to Denpasar had to divert to Darwin where AFP officers removed three Queensland males from the flight.

Airline crew told police that a man in his forties and two men in their twenties were asked to move from the exit row where they were seated after staff feared they were too intoxicated to help in the event of an emergency.

It is then alleged the men refused to move at first, then after eventually changing seats, enjoyed duty-free alcohol onboard the flight and one man began to use a vape in his seat.

The behaviour sparked the pilot to divert the flight to Darwin International Airport where the men were escorted by the AFP around 4 pm.

Police cautioned the group in the terminal and then released the trio from custody. It is expected they will be fined for offensive or disorderly behaviour, consuming alcohol and smoking on board an aircraft.

Darwin Airport’s commander, Superintendent Greg Davis said the AFP will not put up with unruly behaviour onboard aircraft or inside airports Australia-wide.

“We know that the majority of passengers do the right thing and they should not have their travel disrupted or feel unsafe because of the bad behaviour of some individuals,” Davis, said.

“We again remind the public that airports are not nightclubs. We have zero tolerance for abusive and aggressive behaviour at airports and on aircraft.”

Passengers onboard the flight faced delays of several hours due to the diversion.

Unruly behaviour onboard an aircraft carries a maximum fine of $9,000.

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