Airline Passenger Deliberately Coughs On Flight Attendant During Coronavirus Checking, Forcibly Restrained By Crew [Video]

A Thai Airways passenger was forcibly restrained by the cabin crew after she deliberately coughed on a flight attendant. The incident took place at China’s Shanghai Pudong Airport on Friday.

The woman was traveling from Bangkok to China. All the passengers were held up inside the flight for up to 10 hours after landing at the airport as there was a backlog at the airport due to coronavirus screening. The unidentified passenger got furious and demanded that she be let out immediately.

However, when she was informed that she cannot be let out, the passenger created a ruckus and deliberately coughed at one of the flight attendants. The crew then joined the flight attendant to help him tackle the passenger. The woman was subdued by six crew members. All the passengers eventually underwent screening for the virus and were let out.

Confirming the incident, Prathana Pattanasiri, the head of Thailand’s Aviation Safety Department, said the airline “was informed at Shanghai Airport that there were measures to screen passengers with a history of traveling from risky countries such as Italy, South Korea, Japan and Iran.”

"We could not open the doors of the plane until instructed to and health officials came to proceed with checks. Therefore, Thai Airways had to wait for seven hours before officials arrived at the inspection queue. The Chinese passenger was upset about being held for a long time and coughed at one of our staff. After she calmed down, we explained the situation to her and she agreed to sit and wait for screening,” Pattanasiri added.

Meanwhile, a video of the incident, which showed the passenger going on a rampage before being tackled and restrained by the crew, has since gone viral on social media.