Many passengers on a recent flight were not happy when their plane had to turn around and head back to the airport because two men got into a fight over a reclining seat.
The Swiss Airlines jet was flying from Zurich to Beijing with 200 people on board when a passenger became angry because another reclined the seat in front of him. A 57-year-old Chinese man was outraged when the man in front of him moved the seat back while he was eating a meal. The man reportedly had a bit to drink and slapped he other passenger, a 27-year-old Chinese man, on the head.
"The older of the two felt disturbed during his dinner. When the younger did not respond to his protests, he hit him on the head with the flat of his hand. It was a real slap," said Valerie Sprenger, a tourist guide on board, according to the Daily Mail.
This then led to an all out brawl in the aisles as the men screamed, cursed and hit each other.
Flight crew and passengers stepped in and separated the two fighting men. The older man's hands were tied together and he was restrained at the back of the plane while he continued to scream.
In order to avoid administrative issues, the pilot decided to turn the plane around and land back in Zuirch rather than in Moscow, which was nearby. Both of the men were arrested upon landing.
"The two passengers were handed over to the police of the canton of Zurich after the Airbus A340 landed Sunday evening,'' Mehdi Guenin, spokesman for the airline, said.
The remaining passengers were given a free hotel stay in Zurich so they could board the next day's flight to China. They had to be booked on another airline because all of Swiss Airline's planes to China were full.
The men were questioned by police and ordered to pay legal costs. Swiss Airlines may seek reimbursement for the extra plane fuel and hotel costs that was spent due to the incident.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
