Passenger forces Qatar Airways to make emergency landing

An intoxicated passenger aboard a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Bangkok gave the pilot no choice but to make an emergency landing due to his highly disruptive behaviour aboard the plane. The landing took place in the middle of the night, at around 2:30am in Mumbai (India). According to a report in the Times of India, Bilal Ahmed, the 40 year old intoxicated passenger, is a Kuwait passport-holder and the aircraft made the emergency landing after the man started to provoke flight attendants and attempted to spark a fight with them.

According to sources cited by the Times of India, Ahmed’s hands and feet were actually bound at one point during the flight, in order to keep him restrained and in place. The troublesome passenger had apparently refused to secure his seatbelt and did not want to remain in his seat, and then proceeded to hit a crew member. This is what convinced flight attendants to tie him up. “His behaviour petrified the passengers who were sitting near him, and they too refused to bear with him,” an unidentified airport source explained.

Air rage is becoming an increasingly worrisome problem for all carriers and as we reported recently, many industry analysts feel that these incidents are set to keep rising, as passengers become frustrated by higher ticket prices, flight cancellations and delays. When large quantities of alcohol are consumed as well, the mix can be truly toxic.

Thank you to the Times of India for the direct quotes in this article.

www.qatarairways.com