‘Spitting, kicking, headbutting’: Two men arrested after violent threats aboard flight

Two men were restrained on a flight from Melbourne to Doha after making violent threats towards passengers and crew, including claiming they had a gun, and allegedly assaulting staff members.

The men were arrested by Qatari authorities upon arrival in Doha on Friday night, Qatar Airways said in a statement.

The men appeared “extremely agitated and restless” from the moment they boarded the aircraft, a woman on the flight, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

“They were repeatedly getting in and out of their seats, moving around the cabin and into my personal space, and touching or moving my belongings,” she said.

“They were also repeatedly rummaging through their luggage and saying they were looking for items they had apparently misplaced.”

Things escalated about six hours before the plane was set to land, when the two men, who the woman said were brothers, began arguing and then fighting.

“The men would not comply with instructions from the crew, and ultimately had to be restrained,” the woman said.

The men made threats about using a gun and killing people, according to the woman.

A passenger immediately stepped in and restrained one of the brothers, while cabin crew members restrained the other.

One of the men remained “extremely angry and agitated – he was yelling, spitting, kicking and headbutting a flight attendant”.

“Several male passengers stepped forward to assist the cabin crew in restraining him, and I have to commend those passengers.

“They were absolutely amazing and showed enormous courage in helping the crew and protecting other passengers.”

The woman also said that the cabin crew deserved credit for handling the difficult and frightening situation professionally, and doing “everything they possibly could to calm the situation and protect the other passengers”.

Virgin Australia said that the flight was operated by Qatar Airways, which said in a statement that “two male passengers were involved in a physical altercation on board flight VA7 from Melbourne to Doha, operated by Qatar Airways”.

“Both passengers were restrained and, upon arrival in Doha, were handed over to local authorities.”

“The safety and wellbeing of our crew and passengers remain our highest priority.”

Damien Ractliffe, who was at the front of the plane and did not see the incident, said he saw uniformed men board the plane when it landed in Doha.

“[The] only thing [I] would love to understand is if these people are coming back into Australia,” a passenger told 3AW’s Jacqui Felgate.

“Given the language they were screaming about wanting to hurt and shoot people, they really shouldn’t be allowed back in,” they said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not, last night, confirm whether the men were Australian citizens.

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