Drunk passenger forces Colombo-bound MAS flight to turn back

The flight path of MH179 showed the plane circling over the Straits of Malacca before returning to KLIA

PETALING JAYA: A drunk passenger caused a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight to Sri Lanka to turn back to KL International Airport late Saturday.

MAS said in a statement that the passenger started harassing the crew members soon after flight MH179 had taken off from KLIA at 11.27pm. 

The captain of aircraft decided to return to KLIA and the passenger was handed over to the authorities upon landing. The plane was to arrive in Colombo at 12.18am local time.

“Due to his big body size, the other passengers had to assist the crew in restraining the passenger.

“To ensure safety and comfort of those on-board, the commander of the flight made a decision to turn back,” said the statement.

The flight departed again for Colombo at 10.06am on Sunday.

According to FlightRadar 24, the flight path of MH179 showed the plane circling the Straits of Malacca for several hours to burn fuel before returning to KLIA.