Emergency landing after riot: Drunk Russian tied up in Dubai jet

Dubai – Drinking, mobs, scuffles and the inglorious end of a vacation in Dubai: Because a passenger rioted on the plane, he was tied to his seat until the jet made an emergency landing.

The Boeing 777-300 of the Russian Aeroflot, as has only now become known, took off from Dubai International Airport (DXB) on December 27th with over 300 passengers. The destination of the approximately five-hour flight: the Russian capital Moscow.

Shortly after take-off, it became uncomfortable in the cabin for the economy class passengers because one passenger wanted to make himself really comfortable: Roman P. (38) illegally got the alcohol he had bought in the duty-free shop luggage compartment and apparently helped himself to it quickly and abundantly.

Only a short time later he began to insult the crew (who wanted to prevent alcohol consumption) and passengers around him. Witnesses on the Boeing 777 described the scene as chaotic. Pakhomov screamed, kicked and lashed out. At the aircraft captain’s instructions, passengers and crew initially restrained him with seat belts and plastic handcuffs.

The situation finally escalated when P. was able to free himself from his restraints, jumped up from his seat and tried to break a window with his fists. Again the crew and passengers managed to overpower the rioter and tie him to a place near the emergency exit. With your arms crossed behind the backrest, with seat belts on your thighs and ankles.

Meanwhile, the captain initiated an emergency landing at Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) in Baku (Azerbaijan). There the rioter was taken off the plane by the police. It lasted two hours and 45 minutes Boeing 777 continued its flight to Moscow,

After his arrest (and sobering up), P. claimed he couldn’t remember the incident because he was drunk.

According to the World Aviation Organization IATA, the number of incidents due to mob passengers rose worldwide by 17 percent to 10,854 in 2024. This means that on every 1,205th flight an “unruly passenger” causes stress. However, the number of unreported cases is likely to be significantly higher.