The six men responsible for disrupting a Jetstar flight from Sydney to Phuket and forcing the plane’s diversion to Bali may have to foot a bill of more than $100,000 for their unruly behavior.
Budget carrier Jetstar is deliberating whether or not to push costs for the Bali diversion, which could be valued at thousands of dollars, aviation expert Neil Hansford told News Corp Australia. This is apparently something the airline has done in the past, so it’s not out of the question.
“This was a Boeing 787 and to redirect an aircraft like that, it costs fuel, operating costs, all the costs of the landing and handling at Denpasar (airport); you’ve got passengers who were kept waiting for at least two hours in Phuket to come back and they were very fortunate the airline was able to return within the curfew,” Hansford said.
Three of the six men involved in the literally bloody brawl departed for Australia on Friday afternoon from Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport.
The drama went down on Jetstar Flight JA27 on Wednesday when a fight between the six men, who were allegedly drunk, broke out.
The men have been identified in reports as Bradley Beecham, Brett Eldridge, Michael Matthews, Mark Rossiter, Lynmin Waharai, and Rick William. They were seated in row 53 and are said to have all known each other.
Jetstar has not confirmed whether or not the men were actually drunk, but the airline did say it refused to serve alcohol to the men during the flight.
Meanwhile, reports have said the men confessed to have been drinking, while another passenger on the flight said a bottle of duty free cognac was smashed during the brawl.
“They all claim the fight started because they were drunk,” Yusfandri Gona, head of Ngurah Rai Airport Authority, told Sydney Morning Herald.
“They consumed beers and liquors. That’s what they claim; we can’t verify their story further as we weren’t able to interview the crew or other passengers on the flight.”
Because they were flying on an Australian-flagged carrier, the men escape having to deal with criminal charges in Indonesia (lucky them), while the Australian Federal Police don’t appear to be investigating the incident, according to News Corp.
