Woman restrained and gagged on plane for "disruptive" behaviour
<p>A woman has been restrained and gagged on an international flight over her disruptive and abusive behaviour.</p>
<p>Footage of the shocking moment the woman was restrained by cabin crew has been obtained by <em><a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/woman-restrained-with-duct-tape-after-outburst-during-fiji-airways-flight/news-story/e088405a65c3d6ca889a0612e746702e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a></em>, showing the flight attendants trying to contain the 69-year-old woman's actions. </p>
<p>Police claim the woman was “intoxicated and causing a nuisance”, on the flight from San Francisco to Nadi, leading her to be arrested by Fiji police when the plane landed.</p>
<p>A fellow passenger who filmed the altercation said airline staff were “forced to resort to restraining and taping the mouth” of the woman, whose comments were allegedly “racist and vulgar” in nature.</p>
<p>The passenger explained that the situation unfolded about halfway into the 11-hour flight towards Nadi, after the woman started to “raise her voice” within the cabin.</p>
<p>“It became known to crew and nearby passengers early into the incident that the woman was travelling with her husband, though they were sitting in different areas of the plane,” the witness, who was seated several rows away from the woman, claimed.</p>
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<p>“The husband requested to be seated elsewhere when the woman started to raise her voice, and the altercation between the woman and crew started when the crew refused to tell the woman where he had been moved to.”</p>
<p>The witness told <em>news.com.au</em> the woman “caused great distress to all nearby passengers and crew by screaming and yelling abuse” as well as “threatening and throwing objects such as cups at crew members”.</p>
<p>“She had also slapped the hands of a flight attendant,” the witness claimed.</p>
<p>In the footage, crew can be seen trying to tape the woman’s mouth shut when she refused to stop yelling abuse. </p>
<p>“The other passengers were particularly upset by her overtly racist comments towards the Fijian crew members, with many calling out to the woman to be quiet and behave,” the witness recalled.</p>
<p>“Parents with children onboard were clearly upset with the excessive vulgar language and swearing with many seen blocking the ears of their children.”</p>
<p>“The crew forcibly moved the woman to the back of the plane but this didn’t stop the (passenger’s) abusive behaviour, which continued throughout the remainder of the flight,” the witness said.</p>
<p><em>News.com.au</em> has confirmed the woman was charged by police in Fiji where she remains in custody awaiting a court appearance, while the airline also confirmed the incident is now the subject of a “legal investigation”.</p>
<p><em>Image credits: news.com.au / Shutterstock</em></p>
