American Airlines diverts LA-bound flight to New Mexico after passenger makes threats
![[Representational Image] An American Airlines flight was diverted to Albuquerque due to disturbance (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)](https://d2a0gza273xfgz.cloudfront.net/561131/uploads/f38b7fa0-88d5-11ec-852f-1dc7f8094e61_1200_630.jpeg)
According to American Airlines, a passenger disturbance caused an aircraft to be diverted to New Mexico. On Monday (February 7), soon after 8 pm local time, Flight 482 departed the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina for Los Angeles but the flight was diverted to Albuquerque after a passenger made a threatening remark.
"American Airlines flight 482 from Charlotte (CLT) to Los Angeles (LAX) diverted to Albuquerque (ABQ) following a passenger disruption," an airline representative clarified, The Sun reports. The representative did not disclose any other information regarding the incident.
A passenger on the flight wrote on Twitter, “#aa482 diverted to ABQ. Family taken off the plane, apparently, some kind of verbal threat was made. All is fine, except the schedule.” The official stated, "The aircraft landed safely at ABQ at 10:25 pm local time and has since re-departed for LAX. We thank our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this caused to their travel plans." When the plane landed in Albuquerque, it was escorted by law enforcement.
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It comes after an American Airlines aircraft bound for London was diverted to Miami an hour after takeoff due to a passenger who refused to wear a mask. The Boeing 777, which was forced to return to Miami on January 19, was carrying 129 passengers and 14 staff members, according to the airline. On the way back to Miami, passengers disembarked, and the flight was canceled. The traveler, a lady in her 40s, was greeted by Miami-Dade police officers at the airport, but she was not detained. She was, however, placed on the airline's internal no-fly list pending the outcome of the incident inquiry.
#aa482 diverted to ABQ. Family taken off the plane, apparently some kind of verbal threat was made. All is fine, except the schedule.
— Robby Saady (@robbysaady) February 8, 2022
Since the beginning of the pandemic, airlines have witnessed an increase in occurrences where customers have disrupted flights with threatening or aggressive conduct, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA examines events reported to the agency by airline crews. As of February 1, the agency had received complaints of 323 cases with rowdy passengers in 2022, with 205 of those incidents including mask-wearing. As a consequence, 73 investigations have been begun and 26 enforcement action cases have been filed. Passengers who engage in disruptive conduct may face fines or criminal penalties from the FAA.
