When will this ever end? On Friday, we wrote about the plane diversion of an American Airlines Hawaii flight that took place en route from Phoenix to Honolulu. And that came just four days after we wrote about a prior Hawaii flight diversion for the same reason. So that should be it for a while, no? Apparently not.
Read: Could Federal Air Marshal Service Prevent Hawaii Flight Disruptions?
We just learned from multiple passengers and can confirm, based on FlightAware, that at virtually the same time the Phoenix to Honolulu flight was concluding on Friday, another American Airlines Hawaii flight diversion said to be for unruly passenger behavior, was also taking place. Here’s what happened:
AA 697 Hawaii Flight Diversion from Kauai caused by 1st class passenger.
The flight from Kauai to Phoenix departed the gate on time at 11:08 PM and was in the air at 11:23 PM, all just minutes after the other American Airlines Hawaii diversion concluded. The flight headed out into the Pacific and towards that point of no return, which occurs halfway between Hawaii and the mainland. Once that midpoint is reached, of course, the flight does not turn around.
Something occurred about 500 miles from Kauai, with the midway point being about 1,250 miles from Hawaii. The overnight flight on the Airbus A321neo narrow-body suddenly turned around and was headed back to Hawaii. At 1:18 AM on Saturday morning, barely two hours from its Lihue departure, the plane landed safely at Honolulu. There, something delayed the arrival at the gate for an additional twenty minutes.
The total time of the delay to passengers and crew before the arrival in Phoenix was about 19 hours. The flight remainded on the ground in Honolulu until Saturday at 5:47 PM and it didn’t get to its final destination until Sunday at 2:25 AM.
Jim S was on the flight and told us: “Our flight was diverted as well. AA697 Lihue to Phoenix. I hope these disruptive passengers are given Stiff jail time and fines. Their chaos causes 100’s of people great frustration and financial hardship.”
Dave, who was on the flight too reported more concerning information about the situation. “I was on flight 697 and was actually asked by one of the flight attendants to stand by to assist with this passenger, if necessary. I can say without hesitation that the gate agent in Lihue had ample indication that this particular passenger was going to be trouble, as he arrived at the gate inebriated and was already being very disruptive before ever boarding the aircraft. If a passenger is behaving that way in the terminal, one can correctly conclude that their behavior will worsen, not improve, once the flight is in the air. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior, but even less excusable is American Airlines’ complete failure to train their personnel in assessing passengers as they board, and empower them to take action.”
Jim, who was also on the flight said this: “First class, Seat 1D, 60-70 years old. Looked drunk, couldn’t stand at one point.”
A retired flight attendant, Cate, also said this: I had the good fortune to be a flight attendant for 45yrs with American Airlines from 1968-2013. I survived 3 bomb threats, sick passengers, and one death, had the great honor of flying our troops in and out of the Middle East and I was in the air on 9/11. There is not enough money to make me want to fly in these crazy times. The Flight Attendants are required and trained extensively to save your life.”
So two Hawaii diversions just since Friday. Wow! And before that, only four days separated these from the previous Hawaii flight diversion. In Friday’s other American Airlines diversion, the Boeing 787 widebody was heading in the opposite direction on a 6+ hour flight from Phoenix to Honolulu. Instead, before reaching its halfway oceanic point, it also abruptly turned back due to an unruly passenger incident. We now have reports that a guest on board was throwing human waste at passengers and crew members.
And also, in the past week, we wrote about another Honolulu flight diversion in which the flight attendant was choked!
We’re now up to nine recent Hawaii diversions for bad passenger behavior.
Are airlines acting quickly enough to quell problems?
Pacific Ocean flights are different than one to two-hour flights up and down the Pacific Coast. Any problem that occurs can result in up to three hours without the ability to divert, making these incidents even more disturbing.
We wonder about all the problems associated with these diversions, including endangering safety, upsetting and delaying passengers and crew, planes and crew no longer where they belong, crew rest timing issues, and the enormous expense and wear and tear. Are the airlines looking proactively enough at the situation to head these problems off before they start?
It also reminded us of the new app that Alaska Airlines uses to share real-time passenger information and data between flight attendants and the cockpit in-flight. Could that be of any help here? For example, when you board the plane, usually a flight attendant greets you, and there are other flight attendants in the aisle to assist with seating.
Editor Rob, who once worked for United Airlines, said, “Boarding is the ideal time to observe passenger behavior proactively, and to notify the crew of any potential problems early, which could help reduce some incidents.”
FAA chimes in on unruly passengers.
Please give us your thoughts. We have also reached out for airline input on how they address unruly passengers on Hawaii flights and others. According to the FAA, in 2022, there were 2,359 reports of unruly passengers, 823 investigations, and 553 enforcement actions. Perhaps this video from the FAA should be playing in the boarding area. Kids can say it better than adults sometimes.
Lead image courtesy of FlightAware.
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In 1980 I got my private pilot’s license. I owned a small Piper Cherokee that I took great pride in owning. I would take friends flying but they all understood that when the wheels leave the ground I’m in charge. I have the final word. Being distracted as a pilot can cause serious problems. So when you are aboard my airplane you will listen and do what I tell you. That was the agreement you made onboard my plane.
Unruly passengers in large airliners can cause distraction that might effect the safety of everyone onboard. My suggestion is that the person that is causing the problem should be physically restrained. Duct taping a passenger to a seat, while being embarrassing, isn’t dangerous or harmful.
You can take for granted that there is a flight marshall on the plane. It’s unlikely that they will reveal themselves for something like a petulant passenger.
Duct tape is inexpensive. Easy to conceal. Plenty strong to keep most people firmly in place and easy to clean up afterwards. If you’re a hairy person it can be very painful to rip out lots of hair on arms and legs.
Unfortunately there are no jail cells on airliners so you must improvise. Just knowing that being taped to a seat if you decide to make a pest of yourself could be an effective deterrent. Some people nothing will detour them. For those folks I’d recommend Gorilla Tape. Act like an animal, be treated like an animal.
There needs to be mandatory jail time for individuals who cause unruly passenger diversions. Additionally, they should be held liable for all of the costs incurred for diverting the flight, instead of a fine of a few thousand dollars. The frequency of these occurrences and lack of consequences almost encourages selfish people to continue this kind of disrespectful behavior. If a few people go to prison with a $750,000 fine, it might discourage others from continuing the practice.
I was on this flight. Too make things worse, after getting off plane, told could not leave until check with a gate agent. This process took close to two hours. With my home on Kauai and now 3:00 AM, I just wanted to go home. AA would not help with the Hawaiian flight back, even though saved them hotel, cab, and food. Very disappointing. They did have a successful do over that night.
Except in emergency circumstances, if unruly passenger is restrained, flight should continue so other passengers stay on schedule. Unruly passenger should be taken into custody on arrival or returned to airport of origin. This will also be more affordable for the airline.
This recommendation makes sense. An unruly passenger who requires restraint is sent back to the point of departure where they are then arrested. Loss of the vacation or return home for work might have sufficient financial repercussions to wake them up. Not the way to bet, but maybe.
The gate agent at Lihue violated FAR 135.121 (c)… “No certificate holder may allow any person to board any of its aircraft if that person appears to be intoxicated.” The rules are in place to prevent disruptions like this. The airline needs to be to be reprimanded for the violation, and the gate agent needs additional training or be fired.
Anyone else on this Lihue to Phoenix flight? We’ve had a terrible experience in dealing with the Airlines to figure out reimbursement for the flight we had to book to get home- our best option provided was 2 days later.
I don’t understand why inebriated passengers can’t just pass out. I get it, it’s a long rugged flight to anywhere from the islands. Don’t you just want to sleep it off? What I always used to do. Show up buzzing, sleep the flight off. Why make things difficult, damn.
Should not allow drunk passengers on the plane. With that being said the airline also continue to sell alcohol on flights which just leads to more problems. If you can’t fly without drinking don’t fly. If you want less problems quit selling alcohol.
See my previous post. The same law prohibits selling alcohol to individuals who appear intoxicated. There are laws for a reason.
Where are the Sky Marshals? Don’t we use or have them on long haul flights anymore. I don’t understand this. I think if airlines are not using them they better start rethinking their policies and safety standards. Thank you.
Hi Marilyn.
This should answer your question: https://beatofhawaii.com/could-federal-air-marshal-service-prevent-hawaii-flight-disruptions/.
Aloha.
Obviously the Federal Sky Marshals are there for a reason other than controlling drunks. In the long-ago past the railroads had their own police force that was primarily aimed at trespassers and hoboes. Why don’t the airlines jointly create a police force where they station one or more officers on each plane with the responsibility for passenger control. Don’t even need to be armed and it would leave the marshal’s free to deal with terrorists. Plus, make significant enhancements to punishment including reimbursement to to the airlines for losses incurred. A diverted flight costs crew time and fuel.
I am a retired American citizen from the mainland and live on Oahu. I live in Ewa Beach and was planning on taking a trip to the Big Island and another to the mainland in a few months. I’m canceling any plans I had been making to fly anywhere any airlines fly. I don’t have to fly anywhere and will never fly again until this all stops, period. Thanks.
The only problem with “deterrents” is that many of these incidents are drug/alcohol/mental illness-related so a “deterrent” is not really something an irrational person cares about.
1st offense: fine (+ actual costs to airline and passengers- paid to airline/passengers), possible jail time, and “1-5 years” on the no-fly list.
2nd offense: mandatory jail time and lifetime no-fly list.
Of course, airlines should be free to maintain their own no-fly lists, as well.
If you live in Hawaii, being on the no-fly list should be a pretty serious deterrent.
I, like all of you are getting sick and tired of this. When are the airlines going to ban together to produce a “Due not Fly list”. As it stands now a passenger canned be banned from one airline, but can fly on another carriers and act up again. The airlines seem to be more worried about profits than passenger/ crew safety. If a person knows they can be banned forever from flying, there might be less of these people acting out
They should change the rule that overseas fights need to reach the overseas midpoint before they are not turned back to the mainland. The rule should be that once they pass the one quarter point overseas, they will continue to their destination or the nearest land destination towards where they are headed. Making an 8 hour flight into a 19 hour flight doesn’t make sense for passengers or crew, unless it is an extreme emergency, but not a disruptive passenger.
Install numerous micro cameras around the jet seating areas and give flight attendants micro body cams. Let all passengers know they are being video recorded during the initial safety-check. It will be money well spent.
Ok. Are you going to support the fare hikes that will be necessary to pay for this?
Honestly, it’s time to stop the philosophy of leniency with alcohol on flights, either before or after takeoff.
this should be noted at gate with passenger forfeiting ticket and non refund money of the ticket.
absolutely uncalled for.
Show those drunks the door.
….at 36,000 ft.
I have never run into any problems on my flights-Hawaii or otherwise. According to the reports I’ve heard I have been very fortunate. I don’t drink so I wouldn’t be a problem there. Alcohol and drugs can cause a person to act like an idiot. I can’t imagine myself behaving disruptive on an airplane or anywhere else for that matter. The airline employees have a job to do and I want to make it as easy as possible for them. I have learned more about airplane etiquette and I intend to improve even more. I have one more trip planned which will require flight and I hope it goes smoothly.
Alcohol Is a drug — and the most prevalent (next to nicotine).
Yes, there need to be programs to assess and protocols implemented to manage and prevent these incidents from ever happening. Airlines need to be more proactive either directly by the crew or by onboard Air Marshals.
Secondly, prosecution and penalty must be severe enough on both the unruly passenger as well as the airline (for allowing this to occur again& again).
And lastly, is there data of the cost that is inflicted on the innocent passengers in both financial and emotional distress? I’m sure as in many instances, there are some costs that can never be compensated or made right ever.
The consequences for air travel distributions safe to light and court cases are not public enough. They should give harsher sentences as well as make the court proceedings more public. This way people are aware of the consequences. As it stands now it seems like nothing happens to people who act up on flights.
I was American Flight Attendant for 32 years. I say no fly list for 5 years.
I see this as part of a growing trend of too much tolerance of bad behavior. Whether it is on social media or elsewhere, we have become too tolerant. Disruptive passengers are not just inconvenient, they are a threat to safety. Disruptive behavior on an airplane or other mode of transportation should ne criminalized. Airlines should adopt and enforce policies that clearly state: disruptive passengers will not be allowed to board and disruptive behavior on board will result in arrest upon landing. We need to make examples of these people. No jerks allowed.
Zero Tolerance. If you can’t behave like a civilized adult on a plane you have zero business flying. If they fined these jerks and put them on a no fly list for five years that should teach them to not act a fool. There needs to be consequences and deterrents to acting like a fool on a plane.
“We now have reports that a guest on board was throwing human waste at passengers and crew members.” I really hope this individual was arrested and charged with a felony for each person that his human waste hit. That is absolutely disgusting and criminal to say the least. I hope the crew onboard and fellow passengers were able and allowed to handcuff this beast. There is no excuse for that kind of behavior. I don’t care if they were drunk or high on some sort of drugs. There needs to be strict and lengthy consequences for any sort of act that causes an aircraft to divert and land because of one passenger. They should also be charged restitution for any economic hardship that it causes other passengers. Maybe this would help.
I was on the Kauai to Phoenix flight. Although I agree flight attendants do not need this type of abuse this diversion was absolute chaos and not at all organized. Hours in lines, 2 cabs to take hundreds of people to hotels, we finally called in the 1 and only Uber drive to get us to the hotel. This unruly passenger was out of line and should be held accountable! But the extra expenses and huge inconvenience of taking two days to get to Phoenix aren’t even in the numbers.