A woman has been charged after she allegedly assaulted crew members on a flight from a New Zealand airport to Sydney earlier this week, Australian police say.
The Western Australian woman, 44, allegedly became physically and verbally abusive towards airline staff on Monday night, according to Australian Federal Police (AFP).
It came after the crew “spoke to her on several occasions about her alleged inappropriate, disruptive and antisocial behaviour,” authorities said.
Airline staff asked for police “assistance to remove the woman from the aircraft” on its arrival into Sydney, before officers boarded the plane at the airport.
“It is alleged the woman refused to follow police instructions,” a police spokesperson said.
“It is further alleged that the woman physically assaulted the AFP officers, with both sustaining scratches to their arms and elbows.”
She appeared in court in Sydney on Tuesday charged with multiple offences, including assault of an airline crew member, resisting police, assaulting police, and disorderly behaviour on board a plane. She would reappear in court in June.
The AFP’s Sydney Airport acting police commander, Daniel Hunt, said there was zero tolerance for disruptive behaviour onboard aircraft or within Australian airports.
“All passengers and airline staff have the right to feel safe and it would be particularly frightening to be trapped in a confined space in the air with someone behaving badly.
“AFP officers responding to calls for assistance at our airports should be able to do so without being subjected to such violence and aggression.
“Travellers who break the law will be dealt with swiftly,” he said.
