An American Airlines flight that took off today (Monday) from the United States to Israel made an emergency landing in Greece this evening due to the misconduct of an Israeli passenger, Israel Hayom reported. The details were confirmed by American Airlines,
According to the report, the passenger confronted the crew, and the captain of the plane decided to land in Athens in order to drop off the passenger and complete the flight to Israel without him.
Last Friday, a Delta flight from Washington to Los Angeles to Oklahoma was diverted after a passenger attacked a flight attendant and the pilot intervened and decided to land the flight.
It was Flight 342 that departed from Reagan Washington National Airport and landed at Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City, after the crew requested a special landing permit due to the passenger's outburst.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the passenger attacked a flight attendant for reasons that have not yet been clarified, and then a security guard who was on the plane approached him and was also attacked. The security guard took control of the captured attacker and the incident was reported to the pilot who decided that there was a danger to the other passengers and therefore the plane had to be landed at the nearest airport to drop off the dangerous passenger.
Delta issued a statement saying, "We welcome the professional and prompt action of the staff and security guard regarding the problematic passenger."
In the past year, due to an increase in the number of air force attacks in the wake of the requirement to wear masks on flights, the US Federal Aviation Administration has adopted a policy of zero tolerance towards violent passengers.
A special unit that secures flights was also set up for this purpose, after it became clear that close to 80% of 5,500 incidents between passengers and crews concerned the issue of wearing a mask.