by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:16 PM ET, Tue March 10, 2020
A female passenger flying with Thai Airways last week was restrained after allegedly coughing on a flight attendant during a long delay.
According to The New York Post, the Thai Airways plane landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport in China on Friday after a flight from Bangkok, Thailand, and was held for more than seven hours while waiting to undergo coronavirus health screenings.
The unidentified female passenger allegedly started yelling about the long wait and began flailing her arms. Reports also claim she also intentionally coughed on a flight attendant.
Four Thai Airways crew members were forced to subdue the woman and restrain her, with a video of the incident showing the first male employee holding the woman in a headlock and asking for assistance to "put her down."
Thailand's Aviation Safety Department head Prathana Pattanasiri commented on the incident:
"We could not open the doors of the plane until instructed to and health officials came to proceed with checks," Pattanasiri said. "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," Pattanasiri continued. "After she calmed down, we explained the situation to her and she agreed to sit and wait for screening."
The Thai Airways flight was reportedly informed of the screening procedures before landing.
Last week, an EasyJet plane looking to take off from Manchester, England was forced not once, but twice, to turn around on the tarmac due to brawling, boozing passengers. The flight was bound for Alicante, Spain.
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