Muslim passenger 'invokes Sharia law' to avoid sitting next to a WOMAN before hitting air stewardess in the face

A Muslim passenger was accused of hitting an air stewardess in the face after refusing to sit next to a woman, "invoking Sharia law".

The incident took place on a Turkish Airlines flight from Samsun in Turkey to Düsseldorf, with officers investigating the incident.

According to information obtained by German media, the incident, occurred on June 1 at around 6am.

Officers from federal police were called to reports of a disruption on board the flight.

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The passenger, a 29-year-old German national with a Turkish background, refused to sit next to a woman, citing Sharia law, the code for living that all Muslims should adhere to.

Islamic tradition dictated this includes prayers, fasting and donations to the poor.

A police spokesman told Bild: "According to initial witness statements, the man invoked Sharia law and refused to sit next to a woman."

The flight attendant then spoke to him, at which point the passenger allegedly hit her.

Sources told the German newspaper the passenger, from the Ruhr area, confessed to the crime to federal police officers.

However, the conversation reportedly did not go smoothly, with the man insulting the officers in Turkish.

As one of the Federal Police officers spoke Turkish, a charge of insult was also filed.

GB News has contacted Turkish Airlines for a comment.

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Last month, Labour unveiled new legislation targeting passengers who disrupt a flight.

It is understood a scheme for carriers to share information on unruly passengers is being developed by officials at the Department for Transport and the Home Office.

The proposal, which is still at the concept stage, could lead to airlines being required to notify the Government of a disruptive passenger.

A participating airline could then be alerted when the same person checked in for a subsequent flight.

It would be up to that airline to determine how to respond, but they would have the option of refusing to carry them.

A YouGov survey of 5,173 British adults conducted in April suggested three out of four people are in favour of the Government creating a database of disruptive airline passengers so they can be banned from all flights.

At present, disruptive passengers banned from future travel by an airline can still fly with another one because of a lack of information sharing, partly caused by data protection rules.

A Government source said: “Everyone should be able to enjoy a pint at the airport, but antisocial behaviour on flights is totally unacceptable. It threatens the safety of passengers and crew, and disrupts hard-earned holidays."

Passengers being drunk is a common cause of bad behaviour on aircraft.

Being drunk on a plane is a criminal offence, and can be punished by a fine of up to £5,000 and two years’ imprisonment.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary repeatedly called for airports to be banned from serving alcohol to passengers before early morning flights, to reduce incidents of disruption on flights.

Mr O’Leary said the airline was being forced to divert an average of nearly one flight every day because of bad behaviour onboard, up from one a week a decade ago.

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