‘Passenger from hell’ forces plane to turn back after ‘banging on cockpit door’

A flight from Melbourne to Bali had to turn back to Australia less than two hours into its journey after a “passenger from hell“ allegedly banged on the cockpit door and slapped a fellow flyer’s glasses off their face.

Jetstar Flight JQ43 had to make a U-turn on Monday, 18 March, after “a passenger became disruptive,” the airline said in a statement.

A traveller told radio station 3AW that the woman smashed a passenger’s glasses off his face.

Another passenger wrote on Facebook that the woman “went loopy and banged on the cockpit door because she thought someone stole her phone.

The captain returned to Melbourne “to get assistance from the Australia Federal Police,” they added.