Police and firefighters surrounded a Saudia Airlines plane at Heathrow after a passenger allegedly punched a crew member and tried to open a cabin door.
Emergency services rushed to the Boeing 787, which had landed from Jeddah shortly before 1pm on Thursday. According to The Sun, the aircraft braked sharply on the taxiway to Terminal 4 after the incident, prompting pilots to call for urgent assistance.
Stairs were placed against the jet and officials boarded Flight SV119, which was carrying passengers from Saudi Arabia. Pictures published by The Sun showed at least four fire engines, six police cars and several ambulances at the scene.
The disturbance is reported to have started as the plane taxied to its stand. A male passenger is said to have argued with a crew member, struck him, and then attempted to open one of the doors.
A source told the newspaper: “It was chaos on board and very frightening for families. The plane had wheels down but a passenger was so agitated and struck out at the crew because he wanted to get off there and then.”
Police later confirmed a man had been arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.
Flight records show the Saudia plane, registered HZ-AR27, left Jeddah 38 minutes late and arrived in London after a journey of just over six hours.
