A massive fight broke out between passengers on board a Thai Smile AIrways flight from Bangkok, Thailand, to Kolkata, India, on Tuesday, with passengers blowing fists and bashing up each other. In a video that has gone viral on social media, two men can be seen fighting, and the flight's crew is seen attempting to pacify the situation.
According to eyewitnesses, the altercation started after a flyer left his seat reclined when the aircraft was taxing at Bangkok airport. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, an organization that monitors aviation security in India, has launched an investigation into the incident and has ordered the airline to submit a report.
Mid-Air Chaos
According to reports, the incident happened aboard a Thai Smile Airways flight from Bangkok to Kolkata, India. The video that has gone viral now shows two men fighting while the flight's crew is seen attempting to pacify them. Other passengers too can be seen arguing with one man when the first man starts blowing punches.
One of the men can be heard telling the other "sit down quietly", while the other says, " put your hand down". Within seconds, the verbal spat turns physical with one man aggressively slapping the other.
It is believed that most of the other passengers were supporting the first man. They soon join the brawl, while the first man can be seen taking off his glasses and punching the other man. However, the other man did not strike back and was just seen defending himself.
Co-passengers and flight attendants can be heard pleading with the man to stop fighting before some of the flight attendants are able to break up the brawl.
Battlefield in Air
According to eyewitnesses, A passenger seated on 37C reclined his seat when the flight was taking at the Bangkok airport. The cabin crew asked him to put his seat in upright position as per rules but he "refused to" do that and refused to" do that and refused to budge, says the airline's "security (incident) report", resulting in the massive mid-air fight.
Meanwhile, the airline issued a statement, saying, "THAI Smile Airways feels sorry for this. We reaffirm that the incident has been taken care of as we followed the flight safety procedures in accordance with international standards. Our flight crews have already provided support to the persons affected by an incident."
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, an organization that monitors aviation security in India, has asked for a detailed report on the unruly passengers and the ugly incident.
In another in-flight incident reported earlier this month, a passenger flying from Istanbul to Delhi got into a shouting match with an IndiGo flight attendant. While some criticized the crew, others asserted that passengers should be respectful towards flight attendants.
In a response to the earlier incident, IndiGo Airlines said that "We are looking into the incident and would like to assure that customers' comfort has always been our top priority."
