Mid-air passenger fight forces Swissair plane to turn back

PA

A brawl between two passengers on a long haul Swissair flight from Zurich to Beijing forced the pilot to turn back six hours into their flight.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Swiss German-language newspaper Blick reported how two men aged 27 and 57, both Chinese citizens, became embroiled in a violent clash more than six hours into the flight.

Spokesman for the airline Mehdi Guenin told French news agency AFP: 'The two passengers were handed over to the police of the canton of Zurich after the Airbus A340 landed on Sunday evening.'

The plane was carrying 200 passengers and was just east of Moscow when the pilot decided to turn it around, despite the fact that it was due to make a stopover in the Russian capital. The pilot chose to head back to Zurich and avoid administrative difficulties.

The two men ware being questioned by police. A Zurich police spokesman said alcohol had played role in the fight.

Swissair paid for the 200 passengers to stay at a hotel in Zurich before they were placed on alternative flights to Beijing with other companies as its Monday service was completely booked.

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-162901%

Related articles

12 Brits in 30-minute brawl on Virgin plane to Barbados

Plane makes emergency landing as Brit 'bites' cabin crew mid-flight

British pensioner banned for life from airline after mid-air punch up

Sign up to our weekly newsletterFollow us on TwitterBecome a fan on Facebook
%VIRTUAL-SkimlinksPromo%