Unruly passengers divert two Hawaiian Airlines planes on same day, airline says
Unruly passengers caused two Hawaiian Airlines flights to divert on Thursday, airline officials said.
One passenger is accused of assaulting a flight attendant mid-air on a plane from Honolulu to Hilo, Hawaii Department of Public Safety spokesperson Toni Schwartz told McClatchy News.
Hawaiian Air Flight 152 departed from the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport around 7:30 a.m.
Around 15 minutes after takeoff, the passenger jumped out of his seat and punched an employee who was passing out beverages, KHON-TV reported.
Once the plane returned to Honolulu, authorities arrested the 32-year-old man on third-degree assault charges, Schwartz said.
The flight attendant was released from work and evaluated for injuries, Hawaii Tribune Herald reported. The plane departed from Honolulu at 9:09 a.m., nearly two hours after its scheduled departure.
A defiant passenger then halted another flight from Honolulu on Thursday afternoon.
The flight from Honolulu to Seattle turned around nearly two hours after departing because a passenger refused to wear a face mask, KHON-TV reported.
Local authorities escorted the woman off the plane, Schwartz said. But it is unclear if she was arrested.
The flight was originally scheduled to depart at 1:05 p.m, but the conflict delayed the flight until 12:11 a.m.
Both cases were turned over to federal authorities, Schwartz said.
“These incidents are a hot topic in the media, of course, and each time another one happens we are all rightly outraged,” Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Peter Ingram wrote in a memo to employees that was obtained by the Hawaii Tribune Herald.
“It’s entirely unacceptable. The (Federal Aviation Administration) has gotten the message and is stepping up fines and enforcement.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 1:53 PM with the headline "Unruly passengers divert two Hawaiian Airlines planes on same day, airline says."
