Delta flight to Los Angeles diverted to Dallas due to ‘customer disturbance’

By Joe Sutton and Eric Levenson, CNN

A “customer disturbance” aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles resulted in the flight being diverted to Dallas on Monday, according to Delta.

The incident occurred on Delta Flight 365 that took off from Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

“Situations like these are rare and regrettable for the vast majority of our customers and Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior at our airports and aboard our aircraft,” Delta said. “We applaud our flight crew’s quick decision to divert and address the situation as expeditiously as possible so the remainder of our customers can resume their travels.”

In its statement Delta did not address the nature of the disturbance.

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Bill Moseley, an actor who was on board the flight, said on Twitter the issue was due to an “unruly passenger. Ah, the unfriendly skies!”

The disturbance comes amid an apparent rise in unruly passengers aboard flights since the pandemic began and mask mandates were implemented.

The Federal Aviation Administration adopted a zero-tolerance policy for unruly passengers on board flights earlier this year. The agency said in August it had issued more than $1 million in fines to unruly passengers in 2021.

A survey by the Association of Flight Attendants released in July found that, of the 5,000 flight attendants surveyed, 85% said they’d dealt with unruly passengers in 2021.

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CNN’s Pete Muntean contributed to this report.