Sign in

Video: Man punches steward on Thai Airways flight. Here's what happened

The Metropolitan Police arrested a British man on "suspicion of grievous bodily harm and endangering an aircraft" after he punched a Thai Airways steward.

Updated on: Feb 21, 2024, 10:43:35 IST
Share
Share via
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
Copy link
  • copy link

A British man faced arrest after he punched a flight attendant on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok to London Heathrow. As per reports, the man went "smashing" around in the bathroom. Flight attendants and fellow passengers intervened to stop him, and that’s when he punched one of the staff members, who fell to the floor from the blow.

The British man who punched a steward on a Thai Airways flight was arrested. (Unsplash/Siddharth shah)
The British man who punched a steward on a Thai Airways flight was arrested. (Unsplash/Siddharth shah)

As per the Independent, the man was arrested after he landed in London. “We met the aircraft on arrival and a 35-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and endangering an aircraft,” informed a statement from the Metropolitan Police. “He remains in custody. Another man was taken to hospital. His condition was assessed as not life-threatening,” the department added.

Also Read: Aeromexico passenger opens emergency plane door, walks on wing. Here's why

A video of the incident made its way onto social media and has gone viral. In the video, a few people are seen trying to stop the man, including a steward. In the commotion, the man throws a punch, and the steward falls. While a few passengers are seen helping the airline staff, others are captured restraining the man.

Take a look at the video of the fight:

A woman who witnessed the incident told the Metro, “He was in the toilet, and he started screaming and shouting. He started smashing the door, and it came away from the hinges”.

“An older guy – in the white t-shirt – tried to get him out. A fight broke out and he ended up smacking the flight attendant. I think he broke his nose,” she added.

Also Read: Southwest Airlines passenger sits right behind another man on near-empty flight, sparks debate on X

“Two passengers sat either side of him and kept pulling him down. We had to put up with his shouting. He was being very verbally abusive,” she further told the outlet.

"It was rough. People were swapping seats and moving kids to the back of the plane. [Upon landing] the police came on and got him off,” the witness added.

  • Trisha Sengupta
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Trisha Sengupta

    Trisha Sengupta is a Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over six years of digital newsroom experience. Specialising in high-engagement storytelling, she blends viral trends with traditional journalism to cover the intersection of technology, finance, and human emotion. Her reporting spans real estate and personal finance struggles in hubs like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the NRI experience, and corporate shifts like tech layoffs. Trisha also frequently tracks global figures and writes human interest stories. Offline, Trisha is an avid reader, history enthusiast and solo traveler. She balances her journalism career with family life while actively integrating AI tools into her modern storytelling approach.Read More