Aboriginal men sue Qantas for false imprisonment Suing Qantas: a group of men say they were kicked off a flight and then locked in a bus. Photo: Dean Sewell Eight Aboriginal community leaders are suing Qantas for false imprisonment after they were removed from their flight and locked in a bus on the tarmac for allegedly being rude and abusive. Soon after Aboriginal elder Michael Edwards, from Kempsey, and his colleagues boarded a flight at Sydney Airport during Reconciliation Week in 2010, security guards were called to remove them. The men, who were returning from a Commonwealth government-funded leadership program in Cairns, were allegedly taken to a bus which was parked on the tarmac and locked in it for at least half-an-hour, having been told they could not leave for any reason, including to go the toilet. They were then escorted back to the terminal by Australian Federal Police officers and told they would have to catch flights the next day. Qantas alleges that Mr Edwards and his friends were intoxicated and rowdy and had to be removed for the safety of staff and passengers. It is understood a flight attendant aboard the flight will allege that two of the men were abusive and ignored her requests to calm down, leading her to call for them to be removed. Qantas asserts that under the Civil Aviation Act and the airline's terms and conditions of travel, it had the authority to remove the men from the airport. But the men deny they were drunk or behaved inappropriately and say there was no justification for removing or detaining them. "This is a claim for wrongful imprisonment," the group's lawyer, Anthony Black, SC, told the court. It began from the moment they were directed by the security personnel to get up from their seats and get off the plane. The men are seeking damages from Qantas for deprivation of liberty, embarrassment and aggravation inflicted upon them by Qantas's alleged failure to offer an apology until months after the incident. They also want reimbursement for the cost of the cars they hired to drive home after choosing not to take another Qantas flight. The hearing before Judge Robert Toner continues.