An unruly passenger who hurled abuse at crew members on a Shanghai-bound Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight was offloaded and handed over to local authorities on Thursday (Feb 6).

The commotion occurred as flight SQ826 was preparing for takeoff at Changi Airport, and resulted in a delay of nearly two hours.

Some passengers on board the flight subsequently took to Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu to air their grievances, claiming that a female passenger had forcefully insisted on using the toilet when the plane was taxiing.

They claimed that she had pounded on the toilet door and verbally abused the cabin crew, which forced the aircraft to turn back to the gate.

A TikTok video shows a flight attendant informing the passenger in the toilet that the plane will be turning back.

It cuts to the passenger returning to her seat and saying in Mandarin: "Who stopped the takeoff - it's not me, I'm not the pilot and I don't know how to fly a plane."

The passenger is then heard quarrelling with fellow passengers displeased by the ruckus and delay.

"Having to go to work tomorrow is your own problem, what has it got to do with me?" she tells one commuter.

"You can get off now and change to a quicker flight. You have money, you're not 'low'...take a more expensive private plane.

"Everyone should talk sense but you're not."

The woman continues ranting that airlines in her country would have let her use the toilet, and she could not have held in her bodily functions.

The exchange turns heated when one passenger calls her "disgraced", and a cabin crew requests for the arguing to stop.

In another clip posted on Xiaohongshu, applause is heard as the passenger and her companion are presumably escorted out of the plane.

Passenger and companion offloaded for safety of others 

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, an SIA spokesperson said a passenger on board SQ826 had verbally and physically abused the cabin crew as the flight was taxiing for takeoff.

"Our pilots assessed the situation and decided to return to the gate to offload the passenger and the passenger's companion to ensure the safety of the other passengers and the operating crew," said the spokesperson, adding that the passengers were handed over to the authorities at Changi Airport.

Due to the incident, the flight was delayed for one hour and 46 minutes and departed Singapore at 3.01am.

The national carrier said the safety of customers and staff is always top priority and apologised to all passengers on board the flight for the inconvenience caused by the incident.

The spokesperson stated that they are unable to share more details due to customer confidentiality.

"SIA believes that all our employees have a right to a safe and respectful workplace environment. We do not tolerate any form of unruly or abusive behaviour, whether on the ground or in the air," said the airline.

They added that their crew members are trained to remain vigilant in the aircraft cabin environment, and are also equipped to recognise and address potential cases of passengers exhibiting behaviour that threatens the safety and security of customers and crew members. 

"We also work closely with the relevant authorities to ensure compliance with all safety regulations," said the spokesperson. 

"Our ground staff may also refuse boarding to customers who may have already displayed errant behaviour on ground, in order to not compromise the safety and comfort of other customers."

lim.kewei@asiaone.com

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