Woman tries to open plane door with over 200 passengers, pilot makes emergency landing

Bali-Melbourne flight makes emergency landing after passenger attempts to open plane door.

A Jetstar flight carrying more than 200 passengers from Bali, Indonesia to Melbourne, Australia, was forced to turn back after a female passenger attempted to open a door over the Indian Ocean. The incident occurred on Monday night, March 31, and the airline confirmed the incident in a statement on Tuesday.

"She acted in an unacceptable manner and was aggressive towards the crew," Jetstar said, explaining that the passenger was removed from the plane by local authorities in Bali after landing.

According to a video posted on social media, the woman at the back of the plane managed to lift the door handle, but an alarm signal alerted the crew in time. Data from Flightradar24 shows that the plane returned about an hour after takeoff.

Jetstar stressed that the safety of passengers and crew is its top priority and that such behavior will not be tolerated. Incidents with disruptive passengers have increased in recent years, with cases of passengers opening emergency exits, attacking crew or forcing emergency landings.

In 2023, a man opened the door of an Asiana Airlines plane shortly before landing, while another was arrested in the US after opening a door and attacking a crew member during a flight. Airline authorities are taking stricter measures to prevent such incidents. (A2 Televizion)