An drunk Air New Zealand passenger had to be dragged of an Auckland-bound flight after he allegedly assaulted a crew member – resulting in a 90-minute delay for the rest of the travelers.
The passenger, 23, supposedly became intoxicated and belligerent during the Wednesday flight from Perth, Australia, to Auckland, the Australian Federal Police said.
The New Zealand national refused to comply with the flight crew’s requests, and allegedly assaulted one of them, resulting in a “slight injury,” the AFP explained.
The flight was diverted to Melbourne, where police officers boarded the aircraft and removed the passenger from where he had been restrained at the back of the cabin.
The man – whose name has not been released publicly – was escorted off the plane with his hands zip tied behind his back, 1News reported.
He was charged with one count of assaulting crew affecting the performance of their duty, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars, according to the AFP.
He is expected in court on Thursday.
The Air New Zealand flight was delayed for 90 minutes, ABC News reported.
“Our crew managed the incident well, but incidents like this are distressing for our customers and our people and we have zero tolerance for this sort of behavior on our aircraft,” airline spokesperson David Morgan said.
Air New Zealand did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for a comment on the situation.
