Passengers aboard a flight from Melbourne have endured a terrifying mid-air incident after two men allegedly became violent, threatened passengers and crew and claimed they had a gun.
The incident occurred on Friday aboard Virgin Australia flight VA7, which is operated by Qatar Airways as part of the airlines’ partnership.
According to passenger accounts, the two men appeared agitated and restless from early in the flight, repeatedly leaving their seats, moving around the cabin and reportedly rummaging through luggage.
The situation escalated several hours into the flight when the pair allegedly began arguing and fighting.
Witnesses claimed the men made violent threats, including saying they had a gun and threatened to shoot people.
The men also allegedly attacked members of the cabin crew, with reports that they headbutted and spat at flight attendants as staff attempted to bring the situation under control.
Passengers eventually joined the crew in restraining the two men.
Reports suggest it took between six and seven people to restrain each man, with one passenger reportedly secured using cable ties while the other was handcuffed.
One passenger described the ordeal as “terrifying”, while another praised the Qatar Airways crew for the way they dealt with the situation.
“Really big props to the Qatar flight attendants, they were hands on for about 10 hours straight,” one witness told 3AW.
Qatar Airways has confirmed that a serious altercation took place but has not confirmed the specific allegations made by passengers.
“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 airline said.
“Both passengers were restrained and, upon arrival in Doha, were handed over to local authorities.”
The airline added: “The safety and wellbeing of our crew and passengers remain our highest priority.”
The incident comes just over a week after another serious onboard disturbance involving an Australian bound flight, when a man was restrained aboard an Emirates service from Dubai to Sydney.
