A man who slapped a fellow passenger on board a Scoot Airlines flight and challenged others to a fight was handed to authorities in Manila, who sent him back to Australia.
Flight TR 386 was operating from Perth International Airport (PER) to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) in the Philippines on December 1, 2023. The flight had a stopover in Changi Airport in Singapore (SIN), and it was on the Singapore to Manila leg that the incident occurred.
The man, reportedly an Australian, had allegedly been throwing insults at other passengers and demanding drinks from cabin crew during the flight.
When the flight was near landing, a fellow passenger decided to film the man’s antics. When the man saw that he was being filmed, he approached the passenger and asked, “What are you filming?”
Footage from the recording passenger’s camera, which was later uploaded to Reddit, captured a verbal exchange between the two men amid announcements from cabin crew via the PA system requesting all passengers to remain seated.
The Australian can then be heard challenging the passenger to have a “one on one”, to which the passenger said, “later, when we get off.”
Gasps from passengers were heard when the Australian suddenly slapped the passenger. A video taken by another passenger and uploaded on TikTok, but consequently taken down, shows the passenger being slapped squarely on the face.
A succeeding clip shows the unruly passenger on the floor of the aircraft with a bloodied face and his legs bound with zip ties. Other passengers helped the cabin crew restrain the man.
In a statement sent to AeroTime, Scoot Airlines said that the man was handed over to Philippine police upon landing, and was sent back to Perth the following day after being denied entry into the Philippines.
“As a result of disruptive behavior, a passenger was restrained and subsequently handed over to the local authorities upon arrival. Consequently, the said passenger was denied entry into The Philippines and was returned to Perth on December 2, 2023,” the statement said.
The airline continued: “At Scoot, we prioritize the safety and well-being of our customers and staff members. We will take appropriate measures against any passenger who poses a risk to the safety of our customers and staff.”
This is not the first time a brawl occurred on a Scoot flight. A November 2023 video clip was uploaded to TikTok showing a group of female passengers engaging in a physical quarrel on a Scoot Airways flight.