Flight Carrying 200 People Forced to Turn Around After ‘Disruptive’ Passenger Tries to Open Plane Door Over Ocean
A Jetstar plane flying from Bali, Indonesia, to Melbourne, Australia, was forced to turn around after a passenger tried to open the door.
The aircraft, carrying around 200 passengers, took off from Denpasar Airport before returning after the “disruptive” passenger attempted to open the plane door over an hour into the flight over the Indian Ocean on Monday, March 31, Jetstar announced.
The airline said in a statement to PEOPLE, “We had an aircraft return to Denpasar last night after a disruptive passenger attempted to open one of the aircraft doors and was abusive to our crew.”
“The safety and welfare of our customers and crew is our top priority and we thank them for the way they responded to the situation. This sort of unacceptable behavior will never be tolerated on our flights.”
The passenger was removed from the aircraft by local authorities in Bali and the flight was canceled. The airline shared that the other passengers were provided an alternative flight.
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Flight tracking website Flight Radar 24 shows that the plane took off at 8:20 p.m. local time before it was diverted back to Denpasar Airport over an hour into the flight.
Australian TV host Jacqueline Felgate, who was on the flight, posted a video on Instagram of the captain’s message to passengers as the plane made its journey back to Bali.
“Earlier tonight, there was a lady down back at the aircraft that tried to physically open the door. She lifted the handle … we got a door warning in the front of the aircraft,” the captain said. “…For the safety of the aircraft, the possibility of the door opening also in flight … we don’t know why [this happened] but unfortunately the safest course of action is to … return to land.”
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Denpasar Airport in Bali
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Australian Survivor star Brooke Jowett was also on the flight and shared on her Instagram Stories, “Two hours into the flight flight attendants start running, people start freaking out and we get told to put our seatbelts on immediately. We soon find out we’re heading back to Bali as a passenger decided she no longer wanted to be on the flight and tried forcing open the emergency door mid-air.”
Jowett said it was “a very scary few hours” and she planned to head back home to Melbourne the next day. She also posted a photo after arriving back at Denpasar Airport of disgruntled passengers collecting their luggage as she wrote “a s— show.”
PEOPLE has reached out to Denpasar Airport for comment.
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