Drunken passenger makes Malaysia Airlines Colombo-bound flight to return

A Malaysia Airlines flight bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka was forced to return to Kuala Lumpur early Sunday due to a drunken passenger, the airline said.

During the Flight MH179, which had taken off from Kuala Lumpur late on Saturday, the intoxicated passenger has started harassing the airline crew shortly after the flight was airborne, the company said in a statement to media.

“The intoxicated passenger started harassing Malaysia Airlines’ crew shortly after the flight was airborne. Due to his big body size, other guests had to assist the crew to restraint the passenger,” it said.

Malaysia Airlines said the captain decided to return “to ensure safety and comfort of those onboard.”

Media reports said the flight landed safely after burning fuel for two hours to reduce landing weight

Upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur, the intoxicated passenger was turned over to the authorities, the airline said. The airline did not identify the passenger or the nationality. 

Malaysia Airlines is trying to recover from the two major air disasters last year. Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board went missing on 8 March and Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed after it was shot down over eastern Ukraine on 17 July, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board.