06 July 2023 , 14:48
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This is the moment crew pounced on a passenger mid-flight after he spat at others and threatened to "slaughter" anyone who touched him.
The crew of an Athens-bound flight have been praised for their “exceptional calm” after the 36-year-old man also reportedly said he would “blow up” the plane shortly after it took off from Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport late Wednesday.
He had initially raised eyebrows when he was seen singing as he boarded the aircraft.
However, witnesses said he began spitting at fellow travellers seated around him on the Airbus A321 Aegean Airlines flight.
One eyewitness told police: "He started screaming as if there was no tomorrow and threatening to blow up the plane."
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The man threatened to "slaughter" the flight staff who were trying to calm him (Flashnews.gr)
Flight staff have been praised for being "exceptionally calm" throughout (Flashnews.gr)Stewards who tried to calm down the man were told they would be “slaughtered” if they “touched” him.
In a video taken on a mobile phone from the back of the aircraft, a passenger is heard saying: “You got to hold him down. You got to hold him down.”
Greek media reports suggested that passengers and crew members had agreed to restrain the man in the event that he approached the plane’s emergency exits.
The passenger reportedly spat at others (Flashnews.gr)
The 36-six year old man had raised eyebrows when he began singing as he boarded the aircraft (Flashnews.gr)“For security reasons, the crew did not serve any food [to rule out] the possibility of knives and forks being used even if they are plastic while passengers who were seated next to him were taken to business class and jumpseats used by crew,” the portal Newsbomb reported.
The plane’s captain immediately notified the control tower in Athens but was told to continue the journey – which it did – landing in the Greek capital on time.
As the airbus landed riot police were waiting to arrest the man. The Mirror contacted the airline for a comment.