Photo: Robert Alexander/Getty
AUnited Airlinesflight traveling from London to Newark, New Jersey, was diverted to Bangor, Maine, due to two passengers’ unruly behavior.
“United flight 883 landed in Bangor this morning after two passengers, who appeared intoxicated, became disruptive,” a spokesperson for the airline told PEOPLE in a statement Friday afternoon. “Law enforcement officials removed the two passengers and the flight has already re-departed for Newark Liberty International Airport.”
The statement added, “The customers will be banned from future United flights while we review this matter.”
The security threat level was classified as a Level 2, which indicates “heightened risks to safety.”
Sergeant Jason McAmbley, public information officer for the Bangor Police Department, told PEOPLE in a statement that members of the department’s airport division assisted Customs and Border Protection and the FBI in handling the situation when the flight made its emergency landing in Maine.
“Two passengers were removed from the plane and CBP and FBI are handling the investigation,” McAmbley added.
The Federal Aviation Administration also confirmed the incident, notingon its websitethat the Boeing 767, which had departed London’s Heathrow Airport, landed safely in Bangor at around 10 a.m Friday.
Bangor International Airport.Douglas Rissing/Getty
Douglas Rissing/Getty
This isn’t the only instance of disruptive flyers making headlines recently.
Last week, American Airlines passengers on a Chicago-bound flightrestraineda man with duct tape after he tried to open the emergency exit. As a result, the plane had to return to New Mexico’s Albuquerque International Sunport.
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According to the FAA, airlines have seen “rapid growth” in incidents involving unruly passengers since 2021.
There was a 492% increase in unruly passenger incidents between 2020 and 2021, when 5,973 were reported. (A large number could beattributed to customers who refused to comply with federal mask mandatesamid the pandemic.) However, according to data from the FAA, occurrences were down 59% in 2022 and another 15% in 2023 with a total of 2,075 reports for the year.
source: people.com
