By Michelle Watson and Gregory Wallace, CNN
A flight from North Carolina to Los Angeles was diverted to New Mexico overnight after a passenger made a “threatening statement” to a crew member, a spokesperson for American Airlines said.
“American Airlines flight 482 from Charlotte (CLT) to Los Angeles (LAX) diverted to Albuquerque (ABQ) following a passenger disruption in which a threatening statement was made toward a crew member,” airline spokesperson Curtis Blessing said in a statement emailed to CNN.
“The aircraft was met by local law enforcement after landing safely at ABQ at 10:25 p.m. local time. The passengers involved were deplaned, and the flight later re-departed for LAX,” the statement said.
“We thank our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this caused to their travel plans.”
So far this year, 323 unruly passenger incidents had been reported to the Federal Aviation Administration as of February 1. There were 5,981 incidents reported last year.
A spokesperson with the Albuquerque International Sunport airport said they could “confirm that there was an unscheduled inbound American Airlines flight last evening.”
The FBI has taken over the case, the spokesperson said.
Blessing said that American Airlines expects its “customers to comply with … policies when they choose to fly with us, and we take action when that is not the case.”
The incident comes as airlines and airline crewmembers urge the government to step up measures to address unruly passenger behavior. Last week, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian called on the US attorney general to support a no-fly list for unruly passengers.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Monday that “we need to take a look at” placing unruly passengers on a federal no-fly list.
“You simply should not behave this way on an airplane — you shouldn’t behave this way on the ground either,” Buttigieg said.
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