Qatar Airways Doha to New York flight rocked by mid-air stabbing incident

The injured passenger reacted angrily, raising concerns over in-flight supervision and safety

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A Qatar Airways flight from Doha to New York turned tense when a young child allegedly stabbed a fellow passenger with a metal fork mid-flight, prompting crew intervention and sparking debate over parental responsibility in confined airspaces.

The 14-hour journey from Hamad International Airport to New York JFK was disrupted after the child, described as unsupervised while her mother slept, reportedly roamed the cabin and struck a female passenger with the utensil.

The incident was captured on video and widely circulated online, showing flight attendants responding as the injured traveller reacted angrily and threatened retaliation.

“She’s over here stabbing people with forks,” the victim is heard saying in the video. A crew member confiscated the fork while another woke the sleeping parent.

Witnesses reported that the child’s actions appeared unprovoked.

The victim’s agitated response—caught threatening to “smack” the child—divided viewers online, with some defending her frustration and others criticising the reaction as excessive.

@donnitta_renee

Replying to @D WHEN WE FINALLY GOT ATTENTION, They took the fork! My sister has no chill lmao #qatarairways #donnittarenee #flightkids

♬ original sound - Donnitta_Renee

Qatar Airways has not commented on the incident.

However, aviation consultant Janet Richardson stressed that “supervision remains the parents’ responsibility regardless of exhaustion,” especially in confined cabin environments.

Flight crew reportedly engaged the child and other minors with snacks and activities for the remainder of the trip to avoid further disruptions.

The event adds to a string of recent in-flight disturbances, including a JetBlue case in 2022 where a passenger was arrested for threatening a woman with a razor, and a 2024 assault on a United Airlines flight involving a violent, unprovoked attack on a sleeping traveller.

According to the International Air Transport Association, unruly passenger incidents have surged post-pandemic, leading many airlines to bolster crew training on de-escalation tactics.