Three flight attendants received praise for successfully mediating a physical altercation between two passengers on board an EVA Air flight.
In a statement to CNN, the airline said the scuffle began when a passenger allegedly coughed and the man next to him tried to switch seats to escape. However, the man’s attempt to switch seats failed because the seat he had chosen already belonged to another male passenger. The two men then got into an argument over the seat, which escalated into physical violence, according to the airline.
Then three flight attendants intervened to clarify the situation, says EVA.
Flight BR08 was about three hours into its 12-hour flight from Taipei to San Francisco on Wednesday, May 8, when the incident occurred. EVA, which is based in Taiwan, told CNN that the two passengers involved in the fight were foreign nationals, but did not provide information on their countries of origin.
Thanks to the quick intervention of the flight attendants and the support of some concerned passengers, the two men were separated from each other, according to the airline. The flight was able to continue as planned and the two men landed in San Francisco on time.
“The company has always had a zero-tolerance policy towards incidents that harass passengers,” EVA told CNN.
“The company will later compensate (the three cabin crew members) appropriately.”
EVA announced that the captain of the plane contacted San Francisco police during the flight and the two combative passengers were taken away for questioning upon arrival.
This is not the first time an incident during EVA air travel has made headlines. In 2019, an obese male passenger reportedly forced female flight attendants to help him undress, use the toilet and then wash himself because he was physically unable to do so himself.
Following the incident, EVA publicly expressed its “sincere gratitude” to its employees and vowed to further investigate the incident.
In the same year, EVA revised its policy of only employing women as flight attendants and announced that it would also employ men as cabin crew in the future.
For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at CNN.com
