Prominent TV boss restrained on FlySafair flight on Boxing Day after hurling drink at cabin crew who refused to serve more alcohol

The incident, which happened aboard a FlySafair flight from Durban to Cape Town on Boxing Day, saw the woman tussle with fellow passengers on the plane to avoid being restrained. Allegedly the drama unfolded when flight crew would not serve her more alcohol.

A video, uploaded to TikTok, shows the TV boss, Nobuntu 'Nobs' Mkhize, arguing with the stewardess while backed into a window seat. The attendant comes towards the TV executive with plastic hand restraints and says "listen to me," with the passenger seen to shout back. The woman then grabs the ties and throws them over the seat.

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Brand Manager squirmed in her seat and told the duo "you can not do this". She is then seen to throw her drink into the face of the flight attendant. The flight then descended into chaos, with several passengers trying to push the television executive down into her seat.

According to News24, a South African news website, the passenger was arrested and charged for disruptive and riotous behaviour on board the flight. She was handed over to police when the plane landed in Cape Town.

But speaking to the news outlet, the passenger denied claims she was under the influence of alcohol when she boarded the flight, stating that she and her boyfriend were traveling to Cape Town for New Year's Eve. She said: "We had checked in and then decided to go to the slow lounge and then at the slow lounge, we ate quickly, and we had one drink, which was the whiskey.

"We [realised] that we were running late, then we went and boarded the plane. When we got inside the plane, I was not drunk, I was sober as a judge." The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) says they have received a full report from the airline which will be used for further investigations.