Fiji airline staff tape mouth of drunk passenger, 69, who made vulgar & racist remarks on flight

A drunk passenger who hurled racist remarks and vulgarities onboard a Jan. 20 Fiji Airways flight was restrained by flight staff who used duct tape to seal her mouth.

The passenger, Australian Stephanie Banks, 69, was subsequently fined FJ$500 (S$291) in a Fiji court, according to Fiji broadcaster FBC News and News.com.au.

The incident took place on flight FJ871, that departed from San Francisco to Nadi, a city in Fiji, on Jan. 19 (local time).

Videos circulating on social media showed a woman yelling at the crew as they tried to calm her down.

Hurled vulgarities & slurs at flight staff

One video showed the woman complaining to a flight attendant that she was being "abused", adding, "This is criminal!".

After the attendant sat down next to her to try and defuse the situation, the woman called her a "f**king b**ch" along with a racial slur.

Another video showed two flight attendants taping the woman's mouth shut with duct tape.

Husband requested to sit elsewhere: Witness

A witness onboard told News.com.au that the woman was apparently travelling with her husband, but they were not seated together.

In the middle of the 11-hour flight to Nadi, the woman started to raise her voice.

“The husband requested to be seated elsewhere when the woman started to raise her voice, and the altercation between the woman and crew started when the crew refused to tell the woman where he had been moved to,” said the witness.

The witness claimed that apart from screaming and yelling abuse, the woman also threw cups at crew members and slapped the hands of a flight attendant.

Other passengers told the woman to be quiet, while some parents blocked the ears of their children.

The witness said that the woman was forcibly moved to the back of the plane, and when the flight was two hours away from Nadi, her husband came and sat with her, but she continued making a nuisance.

She showed abusive & unruly behaviour: Airline

Fiji Airways addressed the passenger's behaviour in a statement published in Fiji Times.

“The individual in question exhibited abusive and unruly behavior which necessitated restraint by our cabin crew to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all on board.”

The airline said it is committed to providing a safe and comfortable travel experience for all passengers and will continue to enforce strict measures against any actions that compromise safety and well-being onboard.

The airline added that the passenger was met with local law enforcement upon arrival in Nadi.

Fiji police said that the woman was “intoxicated and causing nuisance to passengers",  News.com.au reported.

Banks was charged for unruly passenger behaviour and fined FJ$500 (S$291) in a Fiji magistrate's court on Jan. 23, FBC reported.

She has been released on bail and barred from leaving the country.

Top image from A Fly Guy's Cabin Crew Lounge/Facebook & nesian_vibess/Instagram