A passenger on a flight from Dubai to Islamabad on Sunday has been accused of head-butting a flight attendant.
Journalist Amir Mateen said the violent incident unfolded in the business class section of an Emirates Airlines flight, the New York Post reported Monday.
“Sent by a passenger who remained terrified during the flight: ‘Drunk guy extremely violent. Restrained and handcuffed by emirates cabin crew but I think Pak authorities let him go as he was well connected.’ Q: who was he and was he left off?” Mateen wrote in the caption of the video shared online.
The clip appears to show a man, wearing jeans and sneakers, head butt the flight attendant who is a few inches shorter than him. However, the flight attendant pushes the man away from him, and another member of the crew appears.
The two then wrestle the man to the floor of the plane while a female flight attendant hands what appears to be a zip tie to her fellow worker to help restrain the man:
This happened in Dubai flight to Islamabad this morning. Sent by a passenger who remained terrified during the flight: “Drunk guy extremely violent. Restrained and handcuffed by emirates cabin crew but I think Pak authorities let him go as he was well connected.” Q: who was he… pic.twitter.com/Mu0tE7d1rC
— Amir Mateen (@AmirMateen2) February 25, 2024
A subsequent video appears to show the unidentified man sitting in a wheelchair with his head bowed after exiting the plane:
Who was he? Hope the law took its course as his violence could have threatened the whole flight. pic.twitter.com/B8hkUaovCW
— Amir Mateen (@AmirMateen2) February 25, 2024
Social media users shared their thoughts on the incident, one person writing, “That’s shameful,” while someone else praised the flight attendants for acting in such a professional manner. “Super crew!” the person commented.
According to an article by Street regarding the incident, “Emirates, which has a reputation for being one of the most luxurious airlines in the world, has not been responding to press questions on what exactly went wrong on the flight.”
In a similar incident in December, several people had to restrain a distraught man on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Miami when he began screaming for help and also saying, “They’re killing me” in Spanish, Breitbart News reported.
Another in-flight incident happened when a woman began yelling at another passenger reportedly over reclining seats, Breitbart News reported in November.
“The whole trip she pushed my seat!” the woman told a man seated behind her. “You seen it. No, she did. She put… no! I’m allowed to put my seat back, I’m allowed to put my seat back!”