A Jetstar flight from Melbourne to Bali has been forced to take a U-turn back to Australia after an unruly woman onboard launched an expletive-laden rant at passengers.
News.com.au understands the drama began three hours into the flight, with several passengers forced to intervene and the woman in question eventually being smacked in the face.
Jetstar flight JQ43 from Melbourne to Denpasar took off at 10.42am on Monday and got as far as Alice Springs before being forced to turn around, landing back in Victoria around 3pm.
Footage filmed by passengers shows the woman stood up and screaming in one man’s face, with worried cabin crew stood behind her.
“You don’t understand what the f*** is going, you do not understand any of this…” she screamed.
Another woman then approaches and tries to pull her away, grabbing her by the face.
“So do not come at me, keep your f****** shut”, the woman continues.
One passenger, Melanie, said the woman began screaming and eventually had to be restrained.
“I think some kids onboard were a bit scared,” she told 3AW.
“The pilot said they had made the decision to turn back to Melbourne.”
Another passenger described the woman as the “passenger from hell”.
“(She was) verbally Abusing everyone in her path! Even shoving a fellow passenger holding a baby,” the person wrote on social media.
“So we were turned around three hours into the flight while she was restrained by passengers and crew in the back. All the poor little kids had to listen to this for five hours. Why they didn’t land and drop her in Darwin or Alive Springs, I have no idea.”
The flight has now been rescheduled to tomorrow.
“A woman went loopy and banged on the cockpit door because she thought someone stole her phone,” one passenger wrote on Facebook.
Jetstar apologised to passengers for the inconvenience.
“The Captain decided to return to Melbourne to get assistance from the Australian Federal Police after a passenger became disruptive just under two hours into the flight,” the airline said in a statement provided to news.com.au.
“We know this was a difficult experience for other customers and our team members, and we thank those who assisted with the situation.
“Due to the circumstances, several crew members were unable to continue flying and the flight has been rescheduled for 10am tomorrow.
“We will provide accommodation overnight to any customers who need it and cover other reasonable expenses including meals.
The safety of our customers and crew is our priority.”