Fight on KLM flight as passenger refuses to wear a mask

By Victoria Séveno

A fight broke out on a KLM flight on July 31 as a passenger refused to wear a face mask, resulting in two arrests.

Fighting face masks on KLM

The brawl broke out on a KLM flight from Amsterdam to Ibiza on Friday, July 31. A passenger is said to have refused to wear a face mask and went on to harass other passengers. This resulted in an argument and a fight between a number of passengers. 

A video of the resulting fight was posted on Twitter. The clip shows a bare-chested man pressed to the ground in the aisle by other passengers. He is not wearing a mask. According to the witness who shared the video, the bare-chested man was drunk. 

A rule is currently in place making the wearing of face masks mandatory on all KLM flights.

Two passengers were arrested

According to an eye witness, the passenger started causing trouble shortly before the plane was due to land. The witness told AT5, the news site for Amsterdam: "the man was almost at the front of the plane, and because no one responded to his provocations, he went on to hit a fellow passenger." In the end, it took five or six other passengers to tackle the bare-chested man to the ground. 

A spokesperson for KLM, the national airline of the Netherlands, confirmed on Sunday, August 2, that the brawl did indeed take place. They also revealed that two passengers were arrested upon landing in Ibiza. 

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Victoria Séveno
Victoria grew up in Amsterdam, before moving to the UK to study English and Related Literature at the University of York and completing her NCTJ course at the Press Association in London. She has a love for all things movies, animals, and food. Read more

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