ORLANDO, Fla. – A JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to Boston ended up diverted to Orlando over what its pilot said was a “disruptive, violent passenger” late Thursday.
The passenger, who claimed to be the “devil,” made threats and punched a woman shortly after Flight 170 took off from South Florida at around 9:30 p.m., forcing the crew to divert the flight to Orlando, passengers told Boston ABC affiliate WCVB.
One passenger captured video of law enforcement officials escorting the man off the plane. It’s not clear if he’s been charged.
That passenger also captured the captain’s announcement to passengers.
“We had a disruptive, violent passenger in the back,” the captain said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t make an announcement to tip him off, because we didn’t want to agitate him any more than he already was. He was attacking another passenger. So he has been removed.”
Passengers weren’t compensated for the delay.
WCVB received a message sent by JetBlue to a passenger stating: “This disruption is considered an uncontrollable disruption; meaning it’s due to events outside of JetBlue’s control (things like Air Traffic Control or weather disruptions) and, unfortunately, does not qualify for customer compensation or reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses.”
An airline spokesperson told the station that the customers were deplaned with the assistance of police and the flight continued on to Boston, where it landed at around 4:30 a.m.