A migrant being back to Italy on an Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna was
restrained for going on the rampage and assaulting passengers.
The man from Ghana was being kicked out of Austria after his asylum
application was rejected, and shortly after takeoff he walked to the front
of the plane and announced that he hated all Austrians.
He then started trying to steal the mobile phone from one and attacked
others before being overpowered.
One eyewitness said: “We were already in the air when he came from somewhere at the back of the plane. He was very young, I would say between 25 and 30 years old and of Afro-Caribbean appearance. He started swearing at one passenger and then asked the person if they were Austrian. When they said yes, he flew off the handle. He said he hated Austria, and had spent two
months in jail and had lost everything.
“He was then trying to grab a mobile telephone from another passenger and
hit him, and then one of the stewardesses managed to calm him down and asked him to take his seat. But a few minutes later he came back again and hit the Austrian, at which point a male steward tried to speak to him. But he
wouldn t quieten down and then started punching everyone.
“People were starting to panic, and several people got involved in trying to
tie the man up. But it was only when he hit an old man on the head that
other passengers got involved and it was possible to restrain him. One of
the stewards was also injured tying the man into his seat. Once we landed,
everyone had to stay in their seats until the police came and took him off
the plane. Then a doctor came on board and checked any injuries, one of the
stewardesses seemed really upset and she was crying.”
A spokesman for the Interior Ministry confirmed that there had been
difficulties as reported on flight OS 511 from Vienna to Milan, when an
unaccompanied refugee from Ghana was being sent back to Italy as set out in
the Dublin Accord which stipulates rejected migrants are to be sent back to
the point of entry into the European Union.
The flight crew were reportedly not in a position to make the return flight
and as a result it was cancelled.
Interior Ministry spokesman Christoph Poelzl confirmed that when a person
being sent out of the country was deemed to be not violent, it was standard
practice not to accompany them.
He added: “However we are having discussions with AUA to assess the
situation.”
AUA spokesman Leonhard Steinmann also confirmed there had been a problem, saying: “Our staff were very focused on making sure that the problem did not escalate, and he was handed over to Italian authorities on arrival.”
