Cancun, Q.R. — A TUI flight that left Cancun bound for London was forced to make an emergency landing Tuesday. The plane landed in Bangor, Maine Tuesday night after a passenger scuffle reportedly left two crew injured.
The emergency landing was made around 21:30 EST that forced all 267 passengers to spend the night in Maine. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight landed on American soil after passengers accused two people of smoking in the plane’s toilet.
When the man and woman emerged from the toilet, tempers flared and the passengers began to argue. At least two crew members received minor injuries during the scuffle. The pilot diverted the plane and made the emergency landing, leaving the two unruly passengers behind.
The flight was delayed 17 hours at the Bangor International Airport. A relief crew was brought in Wednesday at which time the plane resumed its flight at 15:00 EST and eventually landed at Gatwick safely.
“This incident involved a foreign-to-foreign flight that diverted due to an in-flight altercation between two passengers,” a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson said.
The two passengers involved did not face criminal charges but were both “returned to their home countries on separate outbound flights”.
“Upon arrival, CBP officers removed both individuals from the aircraft. Although no criminal charges were filed, CBP processed the two subjects for expedited removal.”
