London-bound flight emergency after British passenger 'loses control'

Updated
Disruptive British passenger forces London-bound Virgin Atlantic plane to turn back to Hong Kong
Disruptive British passenger forces London-bound Virgin Atlantic plane to turn back to Hong Kong



A disruptive British passenger forced a London-bound flight to do a mid-air U-turn and fly back to Hong Kong.

The Virgin Atlantic flight had to abort after the rowdy passenger "lost control", police said.

The plane had travelled about 1,000-kilometres before pilots decided to perform a U-turn and return to the city, reports South China Morning Post.

A 25-year-old man identified only as "Robert" by police became disruptive after being in the air for more than an hour, according to reports.

Hong Kong police say the passenger began shouting and ignored the flight attendants' requests to calm down. The plane crew alerted airport control, who in turn alerted Hong Kong police.

The aircraft turned around above China's Sichuan province and began its 1,000-kilometre journey back to Hong Kong International Airport, landing at 3.40am.

The passenger, who according to Hong Kong police is a foreign citizen, was arrested for violating the Aviation Security Ordinance and taken to Princess Margaret Hospital, reports The Times.

The airline "does not tolerate disruptive behaviour by passengers on-board," it said in a statement.

"Virgin Atlantic can confirm that due to a disruptive passenger, [flight] VS201 to London Heathrow returned to Hong Kong and was met by authorities on arrival," the airline added in the statement.

A Hong Kong airport authority spokeswoman said that Flight VS201, an Airbus A340 carrying 240 passengers and 16 crew, had departed at midnight.

The plane was scheduled to arrive in London Heathrow at 5.25am local time, 12.30pm Hong Kong time.

Stranded passengers were put up in Hong Kong hotels and will fly to London later tonight.




Unruly Passenger Disrupts Two Flights In Two Days
Unruly Passenger Disrupts Two Flights In Two Days


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