A trio of disruptive passengers drinking alcohol and vaping on a flight led to the plane being forced to make an unscheduled landing.
The three men from Queensland, Australia, were travelling from Brisbane to Bali when they the incident occurred, reports The New Zealand Herald.
The Virgin Australia flight was diverted to Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, with the captain making the decision over safety concerns. The crew on board requested that the Australian Federal Police be on standby to meet the problem travellers.
According to the police report, the passengers – two aged 20 and another aged 42 – were identified as potentially difficult fliers from the start of the journey. They were asked to move from the emergency exit row after the crew decided they would not be able to help in an emergency. The men allegedly refused to cooperate at first, staying in the extra legroom seats before eventually moving to their assigned places.
They became “increasingly disruptive” following take off, the report added, and began drinking their own alcohol when the crew refused to serve them drinks.
Smoking e-cigarettes and drinking alcohol (other than that provided by cabin crew) violates Australian civil aviation regulations.
Officers met the plane on the runway at around 4pm and escorted the three unruly passengers off the plane without incident. The men were cautioned and released pending charges.
The service continued on to Bali’s Denpasar airport after a delay of more than four hours.
The AFP said that they expected to issue fines regarding disorderly behaviour and offences under civil aviation laws regarding smoking and consuming alcohol on the passenger plane.
Darwin Airport Commander, Superintendent Greg Davis, told The New Zealand Herald that the force had “zero tolerance” for abusive behaviour in airports and aboard aircraft.
“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.”
The Independent has contacted Virgin Australia for comment.
