Block winner Omar is brother of Qantas passenger kicked off Bali flight for ‘abusing’ flight attendants

The Block winner Omar is the brother of another high-profile Aussie involved in a controversial incident caught on viral video recently.

The Block winner Omar is the brother of a high-profile rugby player who was kicked off a Qantas flight from Bali last month after clashing with flight attendants, and later accused the airline of humiliating his family.

Omar Slaimankhel is one of five brothers, originally from Afghanistan, with a “knack for footy” and a “deep love for their home country”, according to an SBS profile earlier this year.

The former NRL player made history alongside best friend Oz on Sunday night to win the show’s ‘Treechange’ season with a record profit of nearly $1.69 million on their home in Gisborne, country Victoria.

Omar and Oz said on Monday they were proud of their win, pointing to several unique features of the property that they say helped it sell for almost $1.5 million higher than that of second-place contestants Rachel and Ryan.

“We had uninterrupted views of the Macedon Ranges, and a lot of privacy, and one of the bigger pools on The Block – thankfully everything worked in our favour,” Omar told news.com.au

But their mammoth windfall was not without controversy.

Host Scott Cam was flabbergasted at the incredible first auction result, announcing of the boys’ massive profit, “Someone at Channel 9 is going to lose their job.”

Eccentric multi-millionaire Danny Wallis later even conceded he “probably” overpaid for the property.

“I probably spent too much at the first auction, but was surprised to pick up two more homes at what I feel was a bargain price, so I guess it all evened out in the end for me at least,” Wallis said.

The longtime pals confirmed it would be evenly split, giving them both a staggering profit of more than $843,000.

Omar and Oz are the biggest Block winners ever.

The Block winner Omar (left) is the brother of high-profile rugby player Zakir (right), who was recently booted off a Qantas flight from Bali after clashing with the flight attendants. He shared a photo of the pair together, with a crown over Omar’s head.

Qantas incident

One of Omar’s brothers, Zakir Slaimankhel, made headlines last month after being filmed in a viral TikTok video arguing with a flight attendant aboard an aircraft at Bali’s Denpasar Airport.

In the footage, Zakir could be heard saying that his wife was left in tears after an altercation with cabin staff, accusing them of mishandling his pram.

The argument escalated and the flight attendant told him to “stop” a number of times, as staff informed him police had been called.

It was later revealed to be Zakir in the footage — a prominent rugby player and charity ambassador who works with orphans for non-profit charity Muslims Around the World.

Zakir took to Instagram on Monday to share a photo alongside his brother and the recently-sold property, with a ‘king’ crown over Omar’s head.

A week after the Qantas video went viral, Zakir broke his silence in a lengthy statement on Facebook, claiming airline staff had “humiliated” his wife and engaged in belittling behaviour.

Qantas firmly rejected those allegations, hitting back in its own statement.

“Qantas takes allegations of this nature raised very seriously and we will not tolerate any unlawful discrimination on racial, ethnic or any other grounds,” a spokeswoman said last week.

“We conducted a thorough review of the claims made by Mr Slaimankhel and his wife. Qantas strongly denies that its crew spoke to either Mr Slaimankhel or his wife in a rude manner. Our staff also deny making any inappropriate comments regarding the passengers’ attire. This has been supported by other passengers who witnessed the interactions.”

Zakir Slaimankhel was kicked off a Qantas flight from Bali last month. Source: TikTok

Zakir (above) is a charity ambassador who works with orphans for non-profit charity Muslims Around the World. Picture: Instagram

Qantas said the family were “removed from the aircraft after verbally abusing our crew a number of times prior to the flight departing Bali”.

“We acknowledge that this flight had a challenging delay, but the safety of our customers and crew is our number one priority and we do not tolerate any kind of abusive behaviour,” she said.

“We ask customers to follow the direction of crew for the safety and comfort of everyone on board. As a result of our review into the incidents on-board, Mr Slaimankhel and his wife have been issued with no fly orders with Qantas Group airlines for their behaviour towards our crew.”

In his Facebook post, Zakir said the couple and their three young children boarded the flight on Wednesday, October 19 after three weeks holidaying with family and friends in Bali.

“Unfortunately, the enjoyment of our trip was short-lived due to the appalling customer service and behaviour displayed by Qantas staff towards my family on this flight,” he said. “I have travelled to numerous destinations worldwide through various airlines but have not been subjected to such an abhorrent customer experience.”

Zakir said the family felt “embarrassed, dehumanised and belittled” in front of fellow travellers and that the incident was “beyond disrespectful”.

“The staff’s lack of compassion and empathy towards a young mother with infants in need of assistance was appalling,” he said.

“She experiences constant flashbacks of the ordeal. The viral TikTok videos of the ordeal have amassed over 5.7 million views within 24 hours, which has led to character assassination of me. As I was reacting to the provocation of staff who were treating us as flight risks and heedless to our concerns. I was visibly upset at the tears and anxiety that they had caused my wife, which was exacerbated by the lack of compassion and human empathy expressed by the Qantas staff.”

Zakir Slaimankhel. Picture: Facebook

Footy family

The Slaimankhel family first moved to Pakistan before migrating to Auckland in New Zealand, where they grew up loving rugby.

Before he was a contestant on The Block, Omar played for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL, making five first-grade appearances in 2012.

Earlier this year, the brothers realised the Asia Rugby Sevens championship in August didn’t have an Afghanistan team — so they banded together and formed half a national sporting team, with Omar as captain.

The team, which only had nine players compared with 14 for all the 11 other teams, managed to make it to the grand final against all odds, losing only to Singapore.

“We had no numbers,” older brother Sabir Slaimankhel told SBS. “We were stuck in Auckland. We were training by ourselves just before the tournament … it’s quite remarkable making it all the way.”