EXCLUSIVE: Business class passenger mistakenly put in an economy seat on flight from Sydney to Hawaii is booted off plane after she warned cabin crew not to look at her for nine hours
- Daniele De Matos, 36, was due to fly from Sydney to Honolulu on Saturday night
- The US citizen was wrongly seated in economy on her Hawaiian Airlines flight
- De Matos was moved to her rightful seat in business class after abusing staff
- She became angry when a crew member took away a drink she hadn’t finished
- Belligerent De Matos then told stewards not to look at her for the next nine hours
A belligerent American business class plane passenger was pulled off a flight from Sydney to Hawaii after she ordered the cabin crew not to look at her for the next nine hours.
Daniele De Matos, a concierge for a software company who had come to Australia for work, was set to fly to Honolulu last Saturday but began causing trouble even before her plane got off the ground.
The 36-year-old boarded Hawaiian Airlines flight HA452 at 9.22pm to make the 8,180km journey on an Airbus A320, according to documents tendered in Downing Centre Local Court.
‘On boarding, cabin crew directed the accused to an economy seat which caused the accused to become verbally abusive towards the staff members,’ a statement of facts said.
A belligerent American business class plane passenger was pulled off a flight from Sydney to Hawaii after she ordered the cabin crew not to look at her for the next nine hours. The woman was arrested and faced Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court. Stock image
Daniele De Matos, a concierge for a software company who had come to Australia for work, was set to fly to Honolulu last Saturday but began causing trouble even before her plane got off the ground. Stock image
Cabin crew realised they had made a mistake and directed De Matos to her correct business class seat where she sat and calmed down.
‘Shortly after, cabin crew took an alcoholic drink prematurely which caused the accused to become verbally abusive towards that staff member,’ the statement of facts said.
‘The accused mood changed quickly, and she was apologetic and remorseful after this.’
De Matos’s improved mood did not last long.
As the plane left the gate and began taxiing towards the runway, De Matos began ‘staring down’ the cabin crew member who had previously taken her drink while she demonstrated the inflight safety rules.
That encounter left the stewardess felling intimidated but according to the statement of facts De Matos was still not finished playing up.
‘Shortly after the demonstration concluded, the accused ordered the cabin crew not to look at her for nine hours,’ it said.
‘As a result of these interactions, the cabin crew advised the captain of the accused’s behaviour. The captain formed the view that the accused’s erratic and disorderly behaviour presented a risk to the safety of the aircraft’.
The captain made a decision to return the aircraft to the terminal to offload De Matos and another female cabin crew member approached her to explain what was going on.
De Matos, 36, boarded Hawaiian Airlines flight HA452 at 9.22pm to make the 8,180km journey to Honolulu on an Airbus A320, according to documents tendered in Downing Centre Local Court. A Hawaiian Airlines plane is pictured at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
‘During this, she placed her hand on the accused’s shoulder to calm her, which caused the accused to act aggressively towards the crew member,’ the statement of facts said.
The plane reached the gate at 10.08pm and Hawaiian Airlines airport operations staff came on board to order De Matos off the aircraft. She refused and they called police for help.
When Australian Federal Police officers came to take De Matos away she was ‘belligerent’ but eventually walked off the plane of her own accord. Having delayed the flight for more than an hour, she was arrested and charged.
De Matos pleaded guilty to one count of behaving in an offensive or disorderly manner affecting safety when she appeared before magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis on Monday.
Mr Tsavdaridis convicted De Matos and fined her $600.
Federal cops fed up with ‘air rage’ incidents on planes after Covid
Australian Federal Police are fed up with passengers engaging in offensive, violent and disruptive behaviour. Sydney Airport is pictured
Daniele De Matos’s arrest came two weeks after federal police warned passengers that offensive, violent and disruptive behaviour would not be tolerated in the air or on the ground as passenger numbers continue to increase.
AFP Detective Superintendent Morgen Blunden said the agency could not be more clear in warning the public that police had zero tolerance for anti-social, dangerous or violent behaviour at airports.
‘We are once again reminding the public to act considerably at airports and treat other passengers and staff members with respect,’ Detective Superintendent Blunden said.
‘There is no excuse for this type of behaviour and those who choose to act in an anti-social or aggressive manner will be held to account.’
AFP officers had reported a trend of passengers creating disturbances resulting in ‘air-rage’ as a result of missed flights, travel delays and baggage issues.
They had also noted incidents of violent behaviour outside of terminals involving disputes over taxis and rideshare vehicles.
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