An ‘unruly’ passenger had to be restrained by cabin crew onboard an Emirates flight from Dubai to Islamabad. In a statement to Khaleej Times, the airline confirmed the unpleasant incident on the Pakistan-bound flight.
A video posted on social media shows the passenger — who was reportedly in an inebriated state — creating a ruckus on the EK614 flight, which took off from Dubai on February 24.
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“Emirates can confirm that there was an unruly passenger on flight EK614 travelling from Dubai to Islamabad. The passenger was restrained by cabin crew and upon arrival, was handed over to the authorities,” an Emirates spokesperson said.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is of critical importance and Emirates strives to ensure this is never compromised. Emirates is cooperating with the authorities at this time and cannot comment further.”
The seemingly intoxicated passenger head-butted a male crew member, prompting the crew to tackle the him to the ground. Another crew member promptly came to assist. Following this, a female cabin crew member provided hand ties to restrain the unruly individual.
In the video, the passenger can be seen head-butting a male crew member, prompting the flight attendants to tackle him to the ground. A second crew member promptly moved to assist. Following this, a female cabin crew member provided zip ties to restrain the passenger.
Watch below how the crew restrained the passenger:
Upon landing in Islamabad, the passenger was removed from the plane in a wheelchair.
Globally, airlines are grappling with a rise in unruly passengers. In July last year, airline industry trade group IATA said one in every 568 flights had an incident linked to an unruly passenger in 2022, compared to one flight in 835 flights in 2021.
UAE-based airline crew members are trained on dealing with unruly passengers. In May 2023, the country ratified the Montreal Protocol 2014 (MP14), a move that strengthens the global legal deterrent against unruly and disruptive passenger incidents on board flights. It grants the UAE the jurisdiction to manage unruly and disruptive passengers that land in the country, irrespective of where the aircraft is registered.