"You Ugly People, Get Your Hands Off Me" — Cabin Crew Duct Tapes Racist Woman Mid-Flight
The Australian woman even threatened to take the Fiji Airways crew to the US embassy.
By Sadho Ram — 28 Jan 2025, 09:29 AM — Updated 1 day ago
Recently, an elderly Australian woman onboard a Fiji Airways flight had to be forcibly restrained by the cabin crew, who duct-taped her mouth after she launched into a racist and vulgar tirade mid-flight
The encounter was filmed by a fellow passenger onboard the flight FJ871.
The video, first published by news.com.au, shows the woman — identified as Stephanie Alesandra Bank, 69, from Adelaide — being irate and causing "great distress to all nearby passengers and crew by screaming and yelling abuse" as well as "threatening and throwing objects such as cups at crew members".
According to the passenger who filmed the altercation, the situation unfolded about halfway into the 11-hour flight to Nadi, Fiji, beginning with a loud argument between the woman and her husband.
He requested a seat change after the woman began raising her voice. The confrontation between the woman and the crew escalated when they declined to disclose her husband's new seating location.
The situation escalated further when a crew member attempted to calm the woman by sitting next to her. Instead, the woman lashed out, hurling offensive language, calling the crew member a "f#cking b#tch" and making racist remarks about their Pacific Islander heritage.
"This is criminal, this is abusive. No! You are abusing me. What do you expect me to do, you b#tch. You're a f#cking staff. You f#cking b#tch. This is criminal," the woman yelled, her face contorting.
When the crew member appeared to offer the woman water, she responded, "So I can spit in your face? Yes, I want some water. Don't look at me like that, you b#tch. You are abusing me, this is criminal."
"This is islander f#cking abuse. It's what you f#cking people do, you f#cking b#tch... if you don't give them to me, you f#cking abuser. You're going to be in trouble. Give me some water," she raged.
WATCH:
When the Australian woman continued to hurl abuses and even threatened to take the Fiji Airways crew to the US embassy, they were compelled to resort to duct-taping her mouth to control the situation
While the crew tried to tell the woman that she was being disruptive towards other passengers, the woman yelled, "Stop provoking me! You're provoking me! Yes, you are [provoking] me."
"Don't touch me. Don't touch me. Don't touch me. Stop it. I have done nothing wrong.
"You ugly people. Get your hands off of me. You're going straight to the American Embassy tomorrow," she ranted as she struggled and ducked while the crew taped her mouth shut.
The woman, however, continued to cause disruption
Fijian authorities arrested the woman after the plane landed.
She has since been fined AUD345 (approximately RM951) by the Nadi Magistrates Court.
She faced one count of unruly passenger behaviour under Fiji's Civil Aviation Act. Local police confirmed she was intoxicated and caused a disturbance, including hurling racist and vulgar comments at crew members.
WATCH:
