Summary
- A passenger on a QantasLink flight was denied alcohol and allegedly attacked a member of the cabin crew, resulting in charges and a court appearance.
- The incident caused delays for other passengers at Karratha Airport, highlighting the importance of QantasLink for connecting regional areas to the remaining of the country.
- Qantas emphasizes its zero-tolerance policy for abuse and disorderly behavior, and its highly trained crews in Western Australia are equipped to handle emergencies in distant territories.
A QantasLink passenger has landed in hot water after allegedly attacking a member of the cabin crew in response to being denied alcohol on flight QF1836.
The Incident
A 62-year-old Fremantle native was traveling from Perth to Karratha in Western Australia (WA) on Thursday. While aboard, the gent requested alcohol but was denied a drink by the crew, resulting in an outburst towards the staff.
WA police hold that the person became verbally assertive on the evening flight and wouldn’t calm down when urged to by crew and fellow passengers.
He then vacated his seat area to make use of the toilet and once near the galley, allegedly assaulted a female member of the cabin crew who was standing nearby. Thankfully, the flight attendant didn’t need medical assistance and the passenger was subsequently charged with behaving in an offensive and disorderly manner endangering an aircraft’s safety, in addition to one count of assaulting a member of aircraft crew.
On September fifth, the person will face Karratha Magistrates Court.
A representative of Qantas emphasized the airline’s zero-tolerance policy towards abuse, disorderly behavior and harassment of employees and customers alike. Airlines have strict regulations and codes of conduct all passengers are expected to stick to, so non-compliance is a big issue and could lead on to financial penalties or bans.
Stay updated with the most recent aviation news here.
The knock on
Unfortunately, passengers at Karratha Airport experienced delays of as much as eight hours on account of an investigation into the incident. As mainline Qantas’ regional domestic subsidiary, QantasLink is crucial for connecting those flyover commuter towns with the remaining of the country. As such, a delay in a small regional port might mean passengers are stranded because there are not any alternative flights out.
QantasLink flies to pockets of the Australian continent where quarries, tin mines and swathes of agricultural land are positioned, for instance. Regions vastly unknown to the typical traveler, they require connections to larger towns, cities and state capitals.
Thus, QantasLink plays a key role in the material of domestic Australian aviation and operates like a shuttle. An eight-hour delay would mean missed connections and skewed arrangements.
Photo: Qantas
Qantas reiterated that cabin and flight crews are highly trained and apt at coping with a wide range of unexpected occurrences at 40,000ft. Crews in Western Australia are particularly able to handling emergencies, as they operate in sparsely populated territories, far-off from world-class airports and Qantas’ headquarters on the east coast.
Consequently, on shuttle flights between Perth and distant townships, firefighting, medical and policing expertise are crucial.
Ultimately, the cabin crew aboard the aircraft had a reason for declining the client’s request for alcohol. Perhaps he had already had enough to drink or supplies for the rest of the drinks service were running low, though that is merely speculation.
Launching from a reasonably passive interaction to alleged physical violence would suggest an absence of clarity and abuse of dominance, but fortunately, the crew member was unharmed, and the flight continued to its destination. Since, travelers have continued on their respective journeys, and Qantas continues to carry the lion’s share of the domestic market.
It’s doubling down on regional Australia, with regular investments into local economies.