Woman throws £5,000 cash at travel partner on airport tarmac

The woman is shown throwing a handful of cash over her male partner's head and walking off. Photo / SWSN

A woman was seen throwing thousands of dollars of cash at her male travel companion but according to onlookers, this was just one part of a long, dramatic saga.

Issues allegedly began five hours into a 9.35pm flight from Heathrow to Bangkok on September 30, when the couple were seen arguing aggressively.

Andy Singh, a 63-year-old travelling to Thailand on holiday, told SWSN the couple appeared intoxicated and were loudly discussing money. During this time, the woman was heard saying she had £5,000 ($10,250) with her.

EVA Air described the travellers as “unruly” in a statement to SWSN.

“Another male passenger travelling with her also engaged in disorderly behaviour and smoked an e-cigarette adjacent to the cabin galley,” said a spokesperson.

“Our flight attendants took quick action to stop these passengers but encountered inappropriate insults and physical abuse.”

It took eight other passengers to help restrain the couple, the statement said.

Eventually, the pilot told passengers they needed to make a more immediate landing, so would take a 2.5-hour detour and land in Vienna, Austria.

Upon landing, the couple were escorted off the aircraft by police. In a moment captured on video, the pair are shown standing on the tarmac, surrounded by officials. Suddenly, the woman throws a handful of cash at her partner. At first, he appeared shocked by the act before eventually starting to pick up some of the notes with an airport official.

Singh said he saw some of the notes float away. Both the man and the woman were placed in a police vehicle and removed from the premises but it is unclear whether they have faced charges.

After the unplanned delay, passengers onboard were placed in a hotel and put on another flight out the following day, bound for Bangkok.