A Turkish Airlines flight carrying passengers from Istanbul to Jakarta on Tuesday had to make a diversion for Medan due to a cabin disturbance.
Soekarno-Hatta Airport Police Chief Sigit Dani Setiyono confirmed today that flight TK56 landed in Medan’s Kualanamu Airport to disembark an unruly passenger.
“It was forced to land in Kualanamu because there was a passenger who caused a scene by creating a disturbance,” Sigit said.
Footage of the incident has gone viral online, showing a male passenger taking swings at the flight’s cabin crew. One attendant can be seen kicking the passenger to push him back.
Police have identified the passenger as MJ, a 48-year-old Indonesian national, who was returning to Jakarta following a personal trip to Turkey. Authorities say MJ was under the influence of alcohol and attacked a crew member first after he was asked to observe order in the cabin.
Local media outlets reported that MJ is a pilot for Indonesian carrier Batik Air, a subsidiary of Lion Air Group. Lion Air has confirmed that MJ is their employee, but stressed that his actions do not reflect the values of the company.
Though the extent of their injuries were not disclosed, Sigit said one cabin crew who was attacked received medical treatment in Kualanamu. Meanwhile, MJ was pictured with a bruised face while in detention at Kualanamu.
The flight landed in Kualanamu at 4:15pm. It resumed its journey to Soekarno-Hatta soon after, landing in the capital at 8pm.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include the police’s identification of the culprit and Lion Air’s confirmation that he is their employee.
