Australian police arrest woman in aircraft for allegedly assaulting airline staff, verbal abuse

An Australian woman could face a maximum of 10 years in jail for allegedly assaulting airline staff at Queensland state’s Gold Coast airport on New Year’s Eve.

The 23-year-old was arrested by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) after officers were notified of a passenger who was reportedly verbally abusive on board the Melbourne-bound flight.

The incident happened before the plane departed, with police boarding the aircraft, hauling the woman off the plane and arresting her.

She was charged with assault and threatening with violence or intimidating a person and a member of the aircraft crew.

Australia fines X over child sexual abuse content – but is it enough?

Superintendent Josh Kinghorn said there was zero tolerance for violent or abusive behaviour in the airport or on a plane.

“Other passengers and crew should not be subjected to bad behaviour, it can be quite frightening to be in an enclosed space with someone who is abusive or aggressive,” Kinghorn said in a statement.

“These incidents can also cause delays for other travellers and staff. The AFP works closely with the airline industry to intervene if anyone’s behaviour interferes with the safe operation of a flight.”

The woman will appear before a magistrates’ court on March 25.

Last August, a Malaysia Airlines flight heading to Kuala Lumpur was forced to return to Sydney after a man on board claiming to be carrying explosives threatened to “blow the plane up” and involved in a confrontation with crew members and passengers.

Gunman detained after firing shots in Australia’s Canberra airport

Police said they had responded to an “emergency incident” at the airport, arresting the 45-year-old suspect and removing travellers from the plane.

But some passengers questioned the perceived delay in taking the suspect into custody, saying police boarded the aircraft three hours after it arrived in Sydney.

“I’m on MH122 now and have zero idea where the hell is the police … there is zero sign of security forces around. Is their plan just to wait till he falls asleep?” national broadcaster ABC quoted a passenger as saying.

As a result of the incident, 32 domestic flights were cancelled, and other domestic flights faced a delay of up to 90 minutes at Sydney airport. There were no international flight cancellations.