A Japanese plane was forced to land in Seattle on its way from Tokyo to Texas after a passenger tried to open the plane's door in the flight.
All Japan Airlines (ANA) flights 114 were transferred about nine hours after taking off on Saturday “due to unruly passengers.” The airline said in a statement.
The flight landed safely at 4:19 a.m. local time, with Seattle Port Police and FBI Seattle standing there.
Police informed the media that it had been alerted to a male passenger who tried to open the plane's door when airborne.
The person who has not yet been identified is suffering from a medical crisis and is subject to the flight personnel and other passengers, police said.
The man was later taken to the hospital. It is unknown whether he will face criminal charges.
The airline later reiterated that the safety of its passengers and crew was its “top priority” and thanked local law enforcement for their efforts to address the issue in a statement.
Police said a second passenger was evacuated for “unruly conduct.” The man was obviously frustrated by the transfer and called the bathroom door on the boat.
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The FBI said no charges were filed against the second passenger.
The plane arrived at the scheduled destination of George Bush InterContinental Airport in Houston, Texas at about 12:40 PM local time on Saturday, about four hours after it was supposed to land.
All Japanese airlines based in Tokyo offer flights between several cities in Asia and the United States, including New York City, Honolulu, Los Angeles and Seattle.
The latest incident is not the first time that unruly passengers on the same route are involved.
In 2024, a drunk customer took an ANA flight from Tokyo to Seattle, and it was reported that a weapon stewardess bit a stewardess during about an hour on the trip. The 55-year-old American passenger “sinked his teeth” when he “sinked” his teeth into the female crew, an airline spokesman said.
Similar incidents have occurred in other airlines over the past few years.
In April, a passenger took a Jetstar flight from Bali, Indonesia, to try to open the exit door in the air, forcing the plane to turn around to Melbourne, Australia.
In the same month, a man allegedly on a Sydney Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur was allegedly trying to open the emergency exit door twice during the flight.
Last November, a man tried to open a US Airlines flight and was restricted by tape-tape employees and passengers.
A year ago, in November 2023, nine passengers on an Air Asia were taken to the hospital when a traveler drove the emergency exit door of the plane and landed at an airport in South Korea.
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