Passenger Assaults Crew Member And Deploys Emergency Slide On Boeing 787 Taxiing For Takeoff At Heathrow Airport

An unruly passenger has been arrested after allegedly assaulting a crew member and then activating an emergency evacuation slide as a Saudia Airlines airplane was taxiing for departure on Thursday.

Emergency services rushed to the side of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on August 28 after the pilots brought the plane to a halt on one of Heathrow’s busy taxiways, causing some disruption to operations at Europe’s busiest airport.

Special firefighting airstairs were attached to the side of the aircraft, and police boarded the plane to take the disruptive passenger into custody.

The 33-year-old male suspect was arrested on a slew of charges, including:

• One count of endangering an aircraft.
• Two counts of assault by beating.
• One count of damaging an aircraft.
• One count of behaving in a threatening, abusive, or disorderly manner towards airline crew.

Under the Air Navigation Order 2016, the maximum sentence for endangering an aircraft is five years imprisonment and an unlimited fine. The maximum term of imprisonment was increased from two years in 2003 due to concerns about a rise in ‘air rage’ incidents.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police confirmed that the suspect has been released pending further enquiries.

The incident occurred after Saudia flight SV-120 from London Heathrow to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, had pushed back from the gate and was taxiing to the runway for takeoff.

According to eyewitnesses, the suspect became irate and pushed a crew member before lunging for the forward, right-hand door, activating the emergency slide.

Why the man became so enraged remains unclear.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, incidents of unruly passenger behavior surged after the pandemic, with the number of passengers arrested in the UK tripling between 2019 and 2023.

Despite the seemingly dramatic rise in violent and disruptive behavior, the CAA said the figures could have been skewed by an increase in reporting by one specific airline – the CAA did not, however, name which airline was responsible for the increased reports.

The majority of air rage incidents in the United Kingdom are the result of drunken behavior, especially on so-called ‘party’ routes such as Ibiza and the Greek islands.

The situation has become so serious that Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has repeatedly called on a strict alcohol limit to be imposed on passengers at airport bars.

Saudia Airlines is, however, a ‘dry airline’ which means that alcohol is strictly prohibited – alcohol is not only not served onboard but in line with Saudia Arabia’s strict rules on alcohol consumption, it is not allowed to be brought onboard Saudia aircraft either.

Despite the dramatic scenes that unfolded aboard Saudia flight 120, the plane still departed Heathrow with a delay of just four hours.

Engineers would have needed to remove the emergency evacuation slide, although a replacement slide is unlikely to have been installed until the plane arrived at Saudia’s base in Jeddah.