A transatlantic holiday flight from Poland to the Dominican Republic was forced to divert on Thursday after a male passenger became violent mid-air, prompting an emergency landing on a remote Atlantic island chain, as reported [1] by the Daily Mail.
The World2Fly flight departed Katowice just after 10 a.m. local time, following a two-hour delay, and was headed for Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.
Roughly five hours into the flight, the crew reported that a passenger had become physically aggressive toward others on board. According to early reports summarized by the Polish outlet Fakt, the man was believed to be “under the influence of intoxicants, most likely psychoactive substances.”
Witness accounts indicated that the passenger grew “agitated and aggressive” and began directing attacks at fellow travelers. The captain diverted the aircraft to the Azores, landing at Terceira Lajes Airport, where local police boarded the plane and detained the individual.
After authorities removed the suspect, the aircraft resumed its journey around 5 p.m. from Terceira island and continued without additional incident. The flight ultimately reached Puerto Plata, located in the northwest region of the Dominican Republic.
The mid-air disturbance is the latest in a series of recent flight disruptions tied to passenger behavior.
On November 9, a JetBlue flight that departed from Boston Logan International Airport and was headed to Tampa International Airport made an unscheduled return to Boston.
The diversion occurred after flight attendants detected smoke coming from the aircraft lavatory. According to reporting from Simple Flying, the Airbus A321 was carrying 200 passengers when crew members reported the odor of marijuana.
Audio published by the Instagram account @you_can_see_atc captured the pilot radioing Air Traffic Control. “For JetBlue 1191, we had a security issue on board with a passenger, mostly a disturbance,” the pilot said.
He added that flight attendants noticed smoke coming from the lavatory. “They were smoking marijuana. Our crew inhaled it. And now we’re overweight landing,” he told controllers, explaining why the plane needed to return to Boston.
Another incident occurred in September during a Ryanair flight from Milan to London Stansted. Roughly 15 to 20 minutes after takeoff, two men reportedly began acting erratically, according to an anonymous passenger who spoke to the Daily Star.
One man seated at the front of the aircraft allegedly tore pages from his passport and ate them, while another man attempted to flush his own passport down the plane’s toilet. The flight diverted to Paris, where police arrested both individuals before the aircraft continued to London.
Aviation authorities in multiple countries have recently noted an increase in mid-air disruptions tied to intoxication, security violations, and passenger misconduct.
Airlines have said they continue to coordinate with law enforcement agencies worldwide to manage such incidents and ensure flights can continue safely after emergency diversions.