The news report that this is based on doesn’t have enough details to fully appreciate the situation, but the first thing to note is that none of us were there. Second guessing the decisions made without thorough knowledge of events is simply not possible, and is only really for the airline and crew to resolve.


Consider this then.

The aircraft turned back, and was at its departure point two hours after departure. That means that it had travelled roughly only one hour of its 10hour route.
9hrs on a plane with disruptive passengers would be a miserable experience. I’ve been in a situation where we had a big problem in the cabin. Hot food service and alcohol were stopped, and ultimately the seatbelt signs turned on. 180 passengers inconvenienced because of the behaviour of just a small few.

On the map, you’ll see that once over the atlantic, the options for offloading a problem are much reduced. But when people start getting physical, the crew or other passengers can easily be injured, which really complicates matters.

Most/all technical related emergency situations are managed through design of the aircraft, but a few situations are rather more difficult.
Fire onboard
People needing medical attention
Disorder in the cabin.

Waiting until Tel Aviv to get the police involved is simply not an option. That would have been in another 9 hours.
Would I do the same thing? If the situation warranted it, yes. But- I wasn’t there. There are only a limited number of crew on board, and these days, as flight crew, we rarely get involved directly, especially in the air. 9-11 should inform people why.


ps. Why is this thread reopened a year later?