There was a fight on the plane. The reason for the fight or the fact that the plane proceeded to take off without anyone disembarking is ridiculous.
Pre-takeoff fight on Thai Smile flight from Bangkok
There was an incident on a flight from Thailand to India. The plane that flew the flight was an A320. Thai Airways is the parent company of the leisure airline Thai Smile.
The roughly 50-second video posted online shows a man standing up from his seat and a crew member standing near him. Several more people as well as a crew member approach.
I am not sure what is being said, but suddenly the passengers gang up on the one guy, and start beating him up I'm pretty sure this flight was on December 26, but I think they were taking the whole "Boxing Day" thing too literally.
— Saurabh Sinha (@27saurabhsinha) December 28, 2022
There isn't a lot of context based on the video. It is stranger than I could have imagined now that we know the back story.
What’s the backstory for this fight on Thai Smile?
There was a fight on Thai Smile. Here's what the airline states happened.
- Prior to takeoff, a passenger was refusing to put his seat in the upright position; the man allegedly claimed he had a backache
- The crew explained the safety rationale for why his seat needed to be placed upright, and explained that the captain would need to get involved if he didn’t follow instructions, as the plane would have to return to the gate
- At this point other passengers became frustrated by this man’s antics and the risk of having to return to the gate, and took matters into their own hands, yelling at him and hitting him
- Once the violence stopped, passengers took their seats, and the flight took off for India, where it landed 2hr24min later
- The airline claims no passengers suffered any serious injuries; the passengers involved in the incident weren’t served any alcoholic drinks on the flight, and there were no other disturbances during the flight
- The two passengers who were spotted taking videos of the assault were requested to delete them (though clearly they either didn’t follow those instructions, or others took video as well)
There's a lot to unpack here.
- Some people are so self-centered and delusional — I’m sorry you’re having back pain, but that doesn’t mean you can violate the safety regulations that are in place all around the globe; what a jerk
- As it turns out, the people trying to beat up their fellow passenger were just trying to be good samaritans and were trying to help the flight get underway, or something
- Maybe I’m just too American here, but I find it shocking that a flight would take off after there’s this level of disobedience to crew instructions and violence on the ground; if a passenger repeatedly refuses to follow crew member instructions, and if a physical fight breaks out on the ground, what makes the crew think this wouldn’t happen once airborne?
Bottom line
A passenger on a Thai Smile flight refused to put his seat upright in order to take off. He wouldn't follow instructions despite the crew's insistence. The other passengers beat up the man.
The traveler cooperated and the flight could take off as scheduled. There's a lot about this story that's weird.
What do you think about this?
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