Unruly Passenger Forces Flight From UK To US To Make An Emergency Landing

A flight from London to Los Angeles on Tuesday was forced to divert from its intended flight path due to an unruly passenger, the airline said as per NBC News. 

Virgin Atlantic flight 141 took off from London Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom but was forced to land before its anticipated destination of Los Angeles International Airport in the United States after the passenger's disturbance. In a statement to the outlet, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said that the aircraft was diverted to Salt Lake City, where the disruptive passenger was taken into custody. 

It is still not clear what exactly happened aboard the aeroplane to prompt the diversion. The aircraft resumed its journey and landed in Los Angeles just before 8pm (local time), Newsweek reported. The flight was four hours behind schedule. 

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"The safety and well-being of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we don't tolerate any behaviour that compromises this. We always want our customers to have the best experience when they fly with us and our cabin crew are highly trained to deal with any individuals that may impact that experience for others," the airline reportedly said. 

"We apologise for the inconvenience caused to customers onboard," it added. 

Meanwhile, as per NBC News, the Federal Aviation Administration adopted a "zero tolerance" stance against unruly passengers in 2021 after an increase in violent or disruptive behaviour on flights. There were around 5,981 unruly passenger reports in 2021 alone, the FAA had informed. This year, so far there have been around 1,071 reports of unruly passengers.