NEED TO KNOW
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A passenger was forcibly dragged off a Thai Lion Air flight after his request for a bigger seat was allegedly denied by the flight crew
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Video footage obtained by PEOPLE shows the man pulled out of his seat and into the aisle by police
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A fellow passenger can be heard calling the man “f—— selfish” as he was removed
Video footage shows a passenger forcibly dragged off a plane after throwing an alleged tantrum on board.
On Wednesday, June 25, a Thai Lion Air flight departing Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok was delayed about an hour so authorities could remove a disruptive traveler.
The man — shown in videos obtained by PEOPLE wearing an orange Garfield t-shirt and green cargo shorts — allegedly became upset after his request for a different seat from the one he was assigned was denied by flight attendants.
“At first, I thought we couldn’t take off because the man had fallen ill,” said one man who recorded video footage, according to Viral Press. “It turned out he just thought the economy seat was too crowded and insisted on moving to the emergency exit. The flight attendants had to call the police because he refused to cooperate.”
The denial allegedly resulted in an outburst, lasting nearly an hour. To put an end to the delay, authorities boarded the Boeing 737 to remove the traveler. Amid his ongoing refusal, two officers grabbed his arms and dragged him onto the ground and into the aisle. Then, the video shows the man grabbing his phone to record the incident himself.
In another part of the video taken from a different angle, a female on board can be heard saying “he’s f—— selfish,” as he’s pulled down the aisle. The removal required one officer to drag him by the arms and another dragging him by the belt. Another passenger is heard yelling “get out the plane.”
Thai Lion Air did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
This isn’t the first time footage of flyers removed off a flight went viral. Earlier this month, on June 17, a 32-year-old female New York resident was restrained and removed from a Southwest flight from LaGuardia to Kansas City. Footage showed her pulling the hair of and spitting on a fellow flyer.
Following her outburst, the passenger was removed from the flight and subsequently charged with aggravated assault, according to a statement from the Port Authority Police obtained by PEOPLE.
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Another clip filmed by a fellow passenger that surfaced online showed the woman finally being removed from the plane. Port Authority Police had to roll the woman out of the gate area strapped to a gurney. Several of her fellow passenger can be seen filming the scene in the background.
“The suspect was transported to the hospital for evaluation and subsequently placed in the custody of the New York City Department of Correction,” a Port Authority PD representative said.
Read the original article on People
