Paris flight to Detroit lands in Canada due to 'unruly' passenger
An intoxicated Delta Air Lines passenger caused a flight from Paris to Detroit, Michigan, to divert to Canada. The unruly passenger was arrested in Stephenville, Canada, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The passenger faces criminal charges under the Aeronautics Act for endangering an aircraft. He appeared in court Monday and will stay in custody until June 9, the police said.
The aircraft, an Airbus A330-300, landed in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, where the 34-year-old man was removed and remanded by the police.
“Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior, especially when it potentially compromises the safety of our customers and flight crew,” a Delta spokesperson said.
The flight, which was carrying 261 passengers, arrived in Detroit from Stephenville two hours behind schedule, according to the airline.
As of Sunday, there have been 783 incidents of unruly passengers this year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Last week, a “disruptive” American Airlines passenger was sentenced after she got in a verbal altercation with another passenger and spat on them, according to officials. She then tried to escape by deploying the emergency slide and the plane was forced to return to the gate.
Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for Paste BN based in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com