Jetstar brawl: Final three men fly into Sydney, say media ‘got it wrong’

SIX men involved in a mid-air brawl have returned to Australia to face the music, and to tell the media “you got it wrong”.

• Should alcohol be banned on planes?
• Sydney to Phuket Jetstar flight diverted after wild flight on-board
• Six drunk men sent home after wild brawl on Jetstar flight

SIX men pulled off a Jetstar flight diverted to Bali after a midair brawl have been immediately banned from flying with Jetstar or Qantas.

Three of the six men, Brett Eldridge, Bradley Beecham, and Lynmin Waharai, were escorted back to Sydney Airport by Jetstar staff overnight and arrived early this morning.

The other three men involved, Mark Rossiter, Ricky William and Michael Matthews flew into Melbourne on Friday night.

All have been banned indefinitely from flying with Jetstar and Qantas and are facing a claim for tens of thousands of dollars in compensation for the cost of the diversion and escort back home from the airline.

Brett Eldridge arriving at Sydney international airport this morning. Picture: Carly Earl

Mr Eldridge and Mr Beecham tried to hide their faces with hoods and caps while leaving the Sydney Airport terminal yesterday.

Mr Beecham, whose partner was waiting for him at the airport, told reporters the media had “got it all wrong” before apologising to passengers on-board the flight.

“I’m sorry for the stress to all the passengers on the flight. I’m sorry for what happened ... 100 per cent,” he said.

“It looked bad, but there was more to the story. No one knows the truth.

“You can only try to prevent it the best you can.”

Bradley Beecham donned a hoodie with an ironic message for his return to Sydney. Picture: Carly Earl

His hoodie bore the lines “Dirty gentleman ... Livin large ... Can’t stop us” on the front.

It is understood Jetstar will pursue the men for costs of diverting the plan to Bali along with the cost of escorting them back home, which is likely to run into the tens and thousands of dollars.

An Australian Federal Police spokesman today said the men were all interviewed by officers but have not been charged with any criminal offences.

Passengers on flight JQ27 on Wednesday night described children screaming and “blood everywhere” as the six men became engaged in a fracas mid-flight, forcing the captain to divert the plane to Bali.

The men told Indonesian authorities they were drunk and airport officials at Bali have said alcohol caused the midair incident.

Jetstar could not confirm whether the men were served alcohol on the plane, but said crew made the decision to refuse the service of alcohol to the passengers during the flight.

In a separate statement, Jetstar said the six men “were being extremely disruptive among themselves and refused requests from our crew”, prompting the captain’s decision to land in Bali.