Woman restrained with duct tape after ‘racist’ tirade on flight

Flight crew used duct tape to restrain a woman on a Fiji Airways flight after she reportedly made “racist and vulgar” comments.

Newsweek has contacted Fiji Airways via email for comment.

What Happened on the Flight?

Footage filmed by a fellow passenger shows a woman shouting and screaming as flight attendants try to restrain her with duct tape, according to the clip published by News.com.au.

The passenger, who did not want to be named, said airline staff were “forced to resort to restraining and taping the mouth” of the woman who was allegedly being racist.

From around halfway into the 11-hour flight, the woman “caused great distress to all nearby passengers and crew by screaming and yelling abuse” as well as “threatening and throwing objects such as cups at crew members” and slapping the hands of a flight attendant, the passenger said.

The crew reportedly forced the woman to move to the back of the plane, but her behavior continued until the end of flight FJ871—traveling from San Francisco to Nadi, Fiji, last Saturday.

At one point in the video, the woman can be heard saying: “I have done nothing wrong. You ugly people—get your hands off of me.”

What Happened When the Plane Landed?

Once the flight landed in Nadi on Monday, it was met by local law enforcement and the woman was arrested.

Fiji Police Force confirmed to News.com.au that a 69-year-old Australian woman was charged with an unruly passenger count under the Fiji Civil Aviation Act. Officers said the woman was intoxicated when she was causing a nuisance to passengers.

The Fiji Civil Aviation Act gives airlines the power to force a passenger to leave an aircraft if their behavior is “disruptive.” It also gives crews the “right to take measures they think reasonable to prevent the passenger from continuing that behavior”.

Fiji Airways has said it will not comment on the incident as it is now the subject of a legal investigation.

Passenger Furious As ‘Sick’ Traveler Refuses Mask on Flight

The new comes after online opinion was divided over a frustrated passenger’s rant about a sick passenger behind him refusing to wear a mask.

The man, known as John, vented in a post on Reddit about sitting in front of someone who was coughing without covering their mouth on a flight from the Midwest to Detroit.

“I offered a mask to the sick person before takeoff since I was grabbing a mask for myself at the same time,” John told Newsweek. “When I verbally offered a mask to him, the person waved me off and said he didn’t want it.”

And he posted on Reddit: “To the maskless, sick person sitting behind me. You are the one coughing on me every 10 seconds without covering your mouth. You are the one clearing your snot-filled nose and throat every 20 seconds. You are the one to whom I offered a mask, but you said, ‘Nah, I’m good.’ You are not good. You are an a******.”

While some agreed with John, others slammed him for “trying to police other people’s behavior”.

Newsweek could not verify the details of this case.