‘Unruly’ Teen Passenger Arrested After Allegedly Causing Flight to Be Diverted

A flight bound for Calgary, Canada from Toronto on Wednesday had to be diverted after a 16-year-old boy allegedly assaulted a member of his family.

The incident caused Air Canada Flight 137 to divert from its original travel plan and land at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport, according to a press release from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The teenager, from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, was arrested after being restrained by employees and passengers on the plane and taken to hospital for medical evaluation, according to the release.

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While no other passengers required medical treatment, the victim – described as an “adult male passenger” – was treated at the scene for “minor injuries”.

PEOPLE has reached out to Air Canada for comment.

The International Air Transport Association categorizes cases of unruly passengers as “incidents involving violence against crew and other passengers, harassment and failure to comply with safety and public health instructions.”

“Indecent incidents committed by a minority of passengers have a disproportionate impact, endangering safety, disrupting other passengers and crew, and causing delays and diversions,” IATA added on its website.

According to airlines magazine, drunkenness, verbal abuse and non-compliance were reported as the most common incidents in cases of unruly passengers.

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“One incident was reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one for every 835 flights in 2021,” the publication reported in August. Incidents of physical abuse remain rare, but saw an “alarming 61% increase from 2021, occurring once in every 17,200 flights,” according to the media outlet.

Air Canada recently made headlines after aviation analytics firm Cirium ranked them last in a report for the worst on-time performance of the major North American airlines.

Airlines including Delta, United and Southwest were also on their list. The airline responded to the report in a statement to Now Toronto.

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“…Our operations are constantly improving so that by the end of the year our monthly on-time performance showed a double-digit improvement over July, a significant increase. Our focus remains on further increasing on-time performance (OTP) this year,” their statement read.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education