Jetstar flight to Melbourne returns to Bali after woman tries to open plane door mid-flight

SCMP | April 1, 2025, 2:27 a.m. | Original

A Jetstar plane flying to Melbourne was forced to turn back to Bali on March 31, 2025. Photo: AP

A Jetstar flight from the Indonesian resort island of Bali to Melbourne was forced to turn back after a passenger tried to forcibly open the cabin door when the plane was nearly 10,000 metres above the ocean.

The flight, identified as JQ34, took off from the Indonesian resort island around 8.40pm local time on Monday. It had been airborne for more than an hour when a woman allegedly tried to open one of the plane’s doors, sparking panic among the 260 passengers on board.

The aircraft was travelling at a height of about 32,000 feet (9753 metres) when the incident occurred, according to tracking service Flightradar 24.

The plane then returned to the Bali provincial capital Denpasar, citing safety reasons, and landed at around 10.45pm.

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“We had an aircraft return to Denpasar last night after a disruptive passenger attempted to open one of the aircraft doors and was abusive to our crew,” a Jetstar spokesperson told Australian daily newspaper The Nightly.

Australian reality TV star Brooke Jowett, who was aboard the plane, shared details of the incident on her social media account.

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