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Australia: Man arrested after running naked through plane

Alex Berry
May 28, 2024

A domestic flight was forced to land early after a man allegedly ran naked down the aisle of the plane. Police have arrested the suspect who is being seen to in the hospital.

https://p.dw.com/p/4gMj4
A Virgin Airlines plane takes from Melbourne Airport in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 31, 2022
The Virgin Australia flight had to turn back shortly after take off on Monday nightImage: Con Chronis/AAP Image/AP Photo/picture alliance

Australian police said on Tuesday they had arrested a man for disrupting a domestic flight after he allegedly ran naked down the aisle, knocking over a member of the crew.

The VA696 flight from Perth to Melbourne was forced to turn around shortly after it took off on Monday night.

"On arrival in Perth, the aircraft was met by the Australian Federal Police and the disruptive guest was offloaded" the airline, Virgin Australia, said in a statement.

Suspect taken to the hospital

Police said "officers arrested a man after he allegedly ran naked through the aircraft mid-flight and knocked a crew member to the floor."

"The man was transferred to hospital for assessment, where he remains," a police statement said.

Australian broadcaster ABC said that it understood nobody had been injured in the incident.

"The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority and we sincerely apologize to guests impacted," Virgin Australia said.

The man is expected to appear in court on June 14, although the charges he will face have not yet been finalized. An investigation has been launched.

Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story.

Edited by: Rana Taha