Mid-air drama: Unruly passenger instigates chaos on Thai Airways flight to Frankfurt

A mid-air drama played out on a Bangkok–Frankfurt Thai Airways flight, where a brawling passenger onboard resulted in German police intervention upon landing. The swift and professional handling of the situation by the airline staff received applause from passengers.

One of the flight passengers, Kitiphong Santiwatr, relived the tense flight experience on the Facebook group Travel to Europe by Yourself. He shed light on how a disruptive passenger, described as a large man, caused a stir on board flight TG920 on July 18.

According to Kitiphong, the chaos unravelled when the said passenger unauthorisedly occupied a special seat without having paid for it. When the passenger was asked by the flight crew to return to his assigned seat, he became disgruntled and started raising his voice. The situation on board started escalating soon, drawing attention from a visibly alarmed Kitiphong, sitting eight rows behind.

After a quiet five minutes, the cabin crew presented the passenger with paperwork, likely an explanation of his misconduct. Rather than complying, the passenger started a verbal uproar, followed by throwing items on the table and damaging his seat. At that moment, there were just two crew members, a female stewardess and a male steward, dealing with the unruly passenger, reported Sanook.

Kitiphong highlighted the commendable response of the flight crew, starting with securing the cockpit door and seeking pilot intervention.

The next 10 minutes of the flight underlined the unpredictability of the situation. While containment of the passenger was expected, the crew decided to leave him until he calmed down, relieving the tense atmosphere on the plane.

After a quiet 10-hour stretch during which the crew demonstrated commendable professionalism, German police were called upon the plane’s arrival. After an announcement from the captain for all passengers to remain seated, five armed German police officers stormed the aircraft and arrested the problematic passenger.

It was later shared by Kitiphong that the pilot was of the viewpoint that restraining the man mid-flight could have resulted in injury given his size and apparent sobriety. It was thus decided to handle the situation upon landing. He expressed his admiration for the professional decision-making of the chief flight attendant under disruptive circumstances.

Concluding his post, Kitiphong emphasised Thai Airways’ unwavering reliability and his confidence in their services, while extending his reassurance to other passengers. He also expressed gratitude to the crew members of that particular flight.