A plane bound for Toronto was forced to divert to Iceland after a Canadian man allegedly became violent and tried to open the plane’s door mid-air.
LOT Polish Airlines Flight 41 was flying from Warsaw, Poland to Toronto on Thursday when the incident happened several hours into the flight, the airline said.
An airline spokesperson told CTV News Toronto that the dispute began after a flight attendant refused to serve alcohol to a Canadian passenger.
“The man then went to the aft galley and shouted at the crew members,” LOT Polish Airlines press officer Krzysztof Mochulski told CTV News Toronto. “The passenger was about to punch a cabin crew member but the passengers ran to the galley and tried to calm him down.”
Mochulski said the passenger became so aggressive that at least five passengers gathered to subdue the man in the aisle.
Video obtained by CTV News Toronto shows passengers grappling with the passenger in the aisle.
“He was able to get away and at one point the passenger ran up to the plane’s doors and tried to open them in mid-air,” Mochulski said.
Mochulski said the pilot made the decision to land the plane in Reykjavik. The passenger was eventually returned to his landing spot.
When the plane landed in Reykjavik, police boarded the plane and arrested the man.
In another video sent to CTV News Toronto, multiple police officers can be seen boarding the plane and escorting the man away in handcuffs.
“HE SPITS ON PEOPLE”
A passenger on the flight who was sitting near the passenger in question told CTV News Toronto that he knew something was wrong when he heard screams coming from the back of the plane.
“He was in the back of the plane fighting the flight attendants,” said the Ontario man, who did not want to be identified. “It was just non-stop.”
“People were restraining him because he was throwing water bottles at flight attendants,” he added. “He was also spitting on other passengers. At one point he was pulling on the door of the plane.”
He said he relived after the plane landed in Iceland and the man was arrested, but is now stuck in a Warsaw hotel waiting for another flight to Toronto.
The airline said that due to crew restrictions, the plane left Reykjavik and returned to Warsaw. All affected passengers have been given hotel rooms before their flights to Toronto on Saturday, the airline said.
LOT Polish Airlines said no one was physically injured, but its cabin crew were “extremely stressed by the situation”.
It is not known if charges have been filed.
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