Woman tries to open plane door mid-flight

A Jetstar flight traveling from Bali (DPS/WADD) to Melbourne (MEL/YMML) was forced to return to Bali after a passenger tried to forcibly open the cabin door when the plane was out over the ocean.

The flight, identified as JQ34, took off from the Indonesian resort island at 8.41pm local time on Monday from runway 27. It had been airborne for more than an hour when a woman allegedly tried to open one of the plane’s doors, sparking panic among the 260 passengers on board.

The aircraft was travelling at a height of about 32,000 feet (9,753 metres) when the incident occurred, according to tracking service Flightradar 24. The plane then returned to the Bali citing safety reasons and landed at around 10.45pm.

“We had an aircraft return to Denpasar last night after a disruptive passenger attempted to open one of the aircraft doors and was abusive to our crew,” a Jetstar spokesperson said.

Australian reality TV star Brooke Jowett, who was aboard the plane, shared details of the incident on her social media account.

“The reason behind the bloody lady wanting to open the door was because she wanted to sit on a different row and have a chair that could recline,” she said in a clip.

“She decided to try to open the doors, which apparently triggered something to do with the emergency slide and it was a big panic,” she added.

An off-duty police officer on the flight helped subdue the woman, who was arrested after the plane landed back in Bali, while she and the other 260 passengers had to spend an additional night on the island, according to Jowett.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Jetstar Australia

Code: JQ/JST

Aircraft: Airbus A321-251NX

Registration: VH-OFW

Serial Number: 11380

Engines: 2 x CFMI LEAP-1A32

First Flew: 8th June 2023

Age: 1.9 Years

But this is not the first-time conflicts over reclining seats have troubled Jetstar flights along the same route. 

Another viral video emerged only a few days ago showing two men fighting on what is believed to be another one of the airline’s Melbourne–Bali flights, with the media reporting that the dispute stemmed from a passenger reclining his seat. The flight was reportedly flying from Melbourne to Bali, according to Australian media, however the date of the incident has not yet been confirmed.

The short clip shows a man in a front row verbally abusing another man in a black cap behind him, accusing him of being drunk. “One of us is going to die. You watch!” the front-row passenger shouts, before the man in the cap stands and attempts to retaliate, only to be restrained by surrounding passengers and crew.

Jetstar has said it is investigating the second incident and commended its staff for handling the confrontation. It also emphasised the carrier’s zero-tolerance policy towards disruptive and abusive behaviour on its flights