An American Airlines flight was diverted for an emergency landing after a first-class passenger erupted in anger when asked to stop vaping.
The Dallas-bound flight, which departed from Milwaukee on Tuesday (3 Sept), was forced to land in Tulsa, Oklahoma due to the unruly behaviour, according to the Daily Mail.
The flight, AA1733, carried 103 passengers and was heading to Dallas, Texas when the incident unfolded. The man was seen vaping in his seat, prompting a flight attendant to inform him that vaping onboard violated federal regulations.
Rather than comply, the passenger became irate, accusing the flight attendant of falsely accusing him. According to American news site PYOK, he then chased her towards the front of the plane, escalating the situation and prompting other passengers to intervene.
With the passenger becoming increasingly disruptive, the flight crew decided to divert the plane to Tulsa for his removal.
Upon landing in Tulsa, the passenger was escorted off the plane by airport police and transported to Tulsa County Jail. Authorities later confirmed that the man appeared intoxicated and smelled of alcohol.
American Airlines has not provided full details of the incident but acknowledged the diversion due to the passenger’s disruptive behaviour, as reported by the New York Post.
In a statement, the airline thanked its crew for handling the situation professionally and apologised to the remaining passengers for the inconvenience.
The flight eventually departed Tulsa at 8pm local time and arrived in Dallas Fort Worth Airport about an hour behind schedule.
Also read: Passenger in China delays flight by 2.5 hours after refusing to sit upright for takeoff
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Featured image adapted from Eric Lichtenstein on Flickr, for illustration purposes only.
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