Hero JetBlue passengers tackle drunk man on board flight from JFK

A group of passengers were able to restrain a man who was displaying ‘threatening behaviour’

JetBlue thanked the passengers’ assistance in this incident (Getty Images)

Passengers on a JetBlue flight banded together to restrain another passenger who was acting “erratically and aggressively”.

The incident happened aboard flight 1926 from London to New York on Tuesday when “the customer was restrained with the assistance of other customers who were witnessing this threatening behaviour”, according to a statement from JetBlue.

The passenger was behaving erratic and aggressive toward his travel companion and members of the inflight crew, the statement said.

When the plane landed at the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, the flight was met by law enforcement.

The flight crew, according to the airline, had found an opened bottle of liquor the customer had brought on board and “indications of intoxication”.

An apparent video of the incident, obtained by the New York Post, captured the moment that other passengers stepped in to try and quell the situation.

A male passenger was put in a headlock but still struggled and tried to break out of the group of men’s grasp.

A woman standing near the melee asked the man who had the passenger in a headlock to move his hands off his face.

She can also be heard asking the restrained passenger to “stop fighting them”, in the video reportedly showing the incident.

The restrained man continued to try and break free, at which point, one person caught up in the chaos said, “Right, take him down,” to which the woman, now off camera, sounded as if she reacted with a “No”.

The man was eventually restrained by the group of passengers, and he was moved down the aisle towards the flight crew.

New York’s port authority told CNN that they received a “report of a disturbance” that was happening on the flight, but they added that the plane landed safely with no further incidents or any reported injuries and no arrests were made by the Port Authority police.

“We appreciate our customers’ assistance and understanding during this incident and apologise for the experience,” the statement from the airline added.

In 2023, the FAA said they received 2,075 reports of unruly passengers, and so far in 2024, there have been 129, although the rate of unruly passenger incidents has dropped by over 80 per cent since record-high numbers in early 2021.

Since late 2021, the FAA has had to refer more than 270 of the most serious cases to the FBI. Unruly passengers can receive penalties of up to $37,000 per violation.

The Independent has contacted JetBlue for comment.