Three men booted from Bali flight for vaping and drinking duty-free on plane

The Virgin Australia pilot chose to divert the plane over the unruly passengers' behaviour. Photo / 123RF

Three passengers were blamed for the disruption of flight from Brisbane to Bali, allegedly under the influence and openly vaping in the cabin.

Virgin Australia VA45 was diverted to Darwin on Friday with crew asking for Australian Federal Police to be on standby to greet the unruly travellers.

The three Queensland men were identified as a potential problem passengers from the beginning of the flight.

Two men, aged 20, and a 42-year-old man were moved from the emergency exit row, according to AFP, after crew made the judgement they would not be of assistance in an emergency.

The police report alleges they initially refused to cooperate, insisting on staying in the extra legroom seats, before complying.

Following takeoff, the men grew “increasingly disruptive”.

When crew refused to serve them drinks they began consuming their own alcohol.

Flight crew reported the passengers were observed drinking duty-free alcohol onboard and one was alleged to begin openly vaping in the cabin.

Both smoking e-cigarettes and consuming alcohol, not provided by cabin crew, is against Australian civil aviation regulations.

The captain of the 737 made the decision to divert the service to Northern Territory, over safety concerns regarding the unruly passengers.

AFP report said officers met the plane on the runway at around 4pm and escorted the three unruly passengers off the plane, without incident.

The men were cautioned and released pending charges.

The service continued on to Bali Denpasar, over four hours delayed.

The AFP said that they expected to issue fines regarding disorderly behaviour and offences under civil aviation laws, regarding smoking and consuming alcohol on the passenger plane.

Darwin Airport Commander, Superintendent Greg Davis said the force had “zero tolerance” for abusive behaviour in airports and aboard aircraft.

“We know that the majority of passengers do the right thing and they should not have their travel disrupted or feel unsafe because of the bad behaviour of some individuals,” said Davis.