Virgin Australia Crew’s Night Out in Fiji Ends in Horror: Flight Attendants Confined To Hotel

Fijian authorities have launched a formal investigation into an alleged theft and serious sexual assault involving three Virgin Australia crew members who were on layover in Nadi. The incident reportedly took place on Tuesday evening after the crew visited a nightclub in the Martintar area.

According to Acting Police Commissioner Juki Fong Chew, local suspects are under scrutiny and he has confirmed that the alleged crimes include theft and rape.

Following the reported assault, the three airline employees have been separated into individual rooms at the Tanoa Hotel near Nadi International Airport. A replacement crew from Virgin Australia has arrived to fly the original aircraft back home, while the airline’s senior management team and family members of the affected crew are also in Fiji to provide support.

In an internal communication, Virgin Australia’s Chief Operating Officer described the situation as a “serious security incident” and reiterated the company’s priority of safeguarding employee welfare.

This episode unfolds amid recent diplomatic strains between Australia and Fiji, adding an extra layer of complexity to the ongoing police investigation.

We’ve seen flight attendants robbed at gunpoint on the way to the airport in Costa Rica and given advice on how to avoid kidnappings in Caracas. Travel abroad entails risks, so does mixing like a local, and airline crew can also be targets.

(HT: Enilria and Paddle Your Own Kanoo)

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. “So, you could say, they lost.. their Virginity.” -Horatio from CSI Miami putting on his sunglasses as Won’t Get Fooled Again plays the intro.

  2. Not only is this article not germane to miles, points, and frequent business travel… the midsection was AI generated

  3. “Following the reported assault, the three airline employees have been separated into individual rooms at the Tanoa Hotel near Nadi International Airport. ” Various reporting seems to suggest that the crew reported the rape and theft to the police in Fiji and the Fiji government’s reaction was to separate and isolate each of the crew members and confine them to their hotel rooms. They did this to the victims! Fiji should be avoided at all costs if this is accurate. You can be raped and then the government will isolate and imprison you in a hotel room? Crossing Fiji off my list. Not a chance.

  4. “Police have confirmed they are investigating allegations of theft and sexual assault in relation to two separate incidents that unfolded after the plane touched down at Nadi International Airport on Tuesday, as reported by local media.”

    “A Virgin Australia spokesperson told NewsWire on Thursday morning that the crew had been ‘advised to stay’ at the hotel but were ‘not detained’.”
    new.com.au

  5. @greggb57 You got me so good! I’m outraged! How dare you!

    @Bill Fiji is just fine. I visited with my family in June 2024, and none of us were raped or witnessed any sexual assaults. That said, we did not go out to nightclubs; maybe everyone should stick to the beaches, instead. After all, those are world-class there. Perhaps, the actual issue here is when you ‘party hard’ at night in a foreign country, obviously you elevate your risk factors. Of course, ideally, no one is ever hurt, anywhere, but condemning an entire country, who relies on tourism, is silly at best, and overkill at worst. Let authorities in both countries (Fiji and Australia) investigate, prosecute, share the findings with the world, and hopefully prevent further incidents. Bad things happen in Australia, too, but we don’t banish them on whole. Same with Europe, America, etc. It’s as if some want to make out Fiji into a Haiti, but clearly they are not the same. Not at all.

  6. Sounds more like a serious personal criminal incident than a serious airline security incident.

    Unfortunately, partying at nightclubs is not entirely free of risks from being exposed to criminals looking for financial gains or sexual assault victims.

  7. As an Expat pilot in Fiji, I was aware that Fiji and Australia always had issues going on. Didn’t concern me though since I had an Australian ALTP, a Fiji ALTP, a US ATP and a US Passport. It’s just the way it is. Fiji has some great resorts but is an emerging nation (nice way to say third world). Geographically Fiji doesn’t consistently have the really nice weather. It is located in the storm track that other islands are either north or east of. I only remember one really nice public beach on Viti Levu and it’s not close to Nadi.

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