Passengers forced to restrain man after delayed flight ends in chaos

Gold Coast man Rico David Garilli was heading to Singapore to start his wedding celebrations when the Scoot flight he was on with hundreds of other passengers was forced to turn back to Australia.

Scoot Flight TR7, on its way to Singapore from the Gold Coast, had been in the air for less than two hours when the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing in Sydney after a male passenger started to fight with others.

Less than 20 minutes into the flight, Garilli claimed the man started to become aggressive and wanting to fight other passengers.

The man brawled with other passengers. Photo / Rico David Garilli Facebook

The shocking footage shows a snippet of the brawl with a flight attendant begging the man to stop fighting while other passengers desperately try and restrain him.

In one part of the video the man can be heard screaming at passengers and yelling, "What, you're going to kick me off the flight now?"

The violence escalates and the man's shirt is partially ripped off until eventually, a group of men intervene and manage to pin him down.

Despite restraining the rowdy passenger, the pilot still made the decision to turn back and take him to Sydney.

Bea Garcia, another passenger on the flight, shared Garilli's footage and slammed Scoot for their handling of the situation.

"Still cannot believe this actually happened," Garcia wrote.

"Can't say I'm pleased with how Scoot handled the situation especially the aftermath as we were expected to stay in airport chairs and were not provided a hotel for the night. When we complained and explained that our flight was more than 7.5 hours away, we were simply told to email feedback and complain."

The man's shirt was ripped in the altercation. Photo / Rico David Garilli Facebook

Garcia claimed she would be sending Scoot a "long email of feedback and demands".

"While I do not blame the airline for what happened with this passenger, I feel it was your responsibility and obligation to us, paying customers, to at least make our overnight stay in Singapore comfortable. It really was the least you could do," she wrote.

The Australian Federal Police and paramedics were waiting for the man at Sydney Airport and removed him as soon as the plane landed.

He was taken to St George Hospital in Sydney's south just before 4.30pm.

In a statement, an AFP spokeswoman confirmed officers responded to a request for assistance from Scoot yesterday.

"The matter involves a disruptive male passenger on-board a flight from the Gold Coast to Singapore," AFP said.

EDIT: watch until the end. He strips and goes for a run before being tackled down. After our flight was announced delayed, this guy started drinking heavy. About 20 minutes into the flight he started becoming aggressive and had to be restrained after all of this kicked off. 2 hours into the flight from Gold Coast to Singapore and they turn around and head for Sydney 😂 Props to the guys at the end who took him down. Photo in comments. (Some footage sucked - didn’t want to provoke him if he saw a camera)

Posted by Rico David Garilli on Sunday, 20 January 2019

"The aircraft was diverted to Sydney and the AFP met the plane upon arrival. Inquiries into this matter remain ongoing."

No charges have been laid.

Scoot has been contacted for comment however a spokeswoman told the Daily Telegraph "the decision to divert the 787 Dreamliner to Sydney was made on the basis that it would be convenient for passengers".