Delta airlines flight diverted in US due to unruly passenger

Washington, June 29

Delta airlines has confirmed that a Florida-bound flight from Michigan was diverted to Atlanta because of an unruly passenger.

In a statement to CNN late Wednesday, the airlines said: “Delta does not tolerate threats and abuse of any kind towards our people. At Delta, the safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is, and will always be, our number one priority.”

The statement added that the airline has "long been a leading advocate on behalf of our people and our customers to ensure the aggressive and timely prosecution of unruly passengers”.

Delta however, did not provide details of the incident but said its representatives are “in contact with our flight attendant to provide support and are cooperating with authorities in their investigation”.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the aircraft was diverted after taking off from Detroit and landed safely at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport at around 11.30 a.m.on Wednesday morning.

Atlanta Police Department officers met the plane at the gate in Atlanta before the flight continued to its destination in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with a new crew, Delta said.

Meanwhile, the FBI said it has not made any arrests so far and added that "we don’t have any further information to share at this time”.

As of mid-June, the FAA has received reported of more than 850 unruly airline passengers so far this year.