AVIATION/ "VICIOUS" MID-AIR BRAWL ON VIRGIN ATLANTIC PLANE

Three members of a family were fined £2300 by a court in Barbados yesterday and banned from ever flying with VIRGIN ATLANTIC after they admitted their part brawl that occurred at 30000 feet while an airliner was overhead the Atlantic Ocean. The patriarch of the family, along with his son and wife, pled guilty to being part of the “vicious” brawl, which occurred towards the end of a 8 hour flight from London Gatwick to Barbados on Thursday. Bridgetown Magistrates Court in Barbados was told that the brawl started on Virgin Atlantic Flight 29, after a Danish family complained about the noise the trio were making as they celebrated a birthday. Passengers, including families with young children, looked on in horror as the row quickly descended into violence amid fears the plane was being hijacked by terrorists. They told how the son and his wife apparently started throwing punches, and throwing hot coffee, at members of the family in front of them. As the cabin crew desperately attempted for up to an hour to contain the fracas in the rear of the plane, the Captain radioed ahead to Barbados asking for police to meet the flight upon landing. The Pilot then ordered the 229 passengers to remain in their seats for the remainder of the flight.  “It was unbelievable, it was like something out of a movie,” said one passenger. “I saw a woman shout ‘you swore in front of my child’. She said it about 6 times, each time louder than the last one. It was vicious. It was frightening. There were punches going off in all directions. I never expected to see something like that".  Another passenger, who did not want to be named, added: "When the fight first started I thought it was an act of terrorism". The trio were arrested after their flight landed at Grantley Adams Airport, on the Caribbean island, late on Thursday afternoon. More than a dozen officers met the flight and about 10 people, including crew, were questioned by police in a police van, pictured above. The woman whose birthday was being celebrated was seen leaving the plane with her arm in a sling and her husband was sporting a black eye. Police said the trio appeared to be drinking for most of the flight.  On Friday, the British family that started it all pleaded guilty to 1 count each of causing a disruption on a plane. They escaped jail and were allowed to continue with their holiday. They faced up to 2 years in prison or a fine if convicted. They declined to comment outside court.  A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said on Friday night: "Following police investigations 3 passengers have been fined. These passengers will now be banned from Virgin Atlantic flights". The trio will now have to make their own arrangements to return to Britain.