A passenger on a low-cost Mexican domestic airline was taken into custody by authorities on Sunday after the person tried to divert a plane to the United States, the airline said.
Volaris reported that Flight 3041 was in the air en route to Tijuana, a coastal city in Baha, bordering Southern California, when crew members intervened with the passenger and “detained him,” the airline posted on social media.
According to FlightAware, a site that tracks flight routes, the Airbus A320 took off from Bajío International Airport in central Mexico at 7:17 a.m.
The airline said the passenger “attempted to use force to divert the plane to the United States” but did not specify exactly what happened on board.
Another passenger on the plane told Fox 5 in San Diego that a man traveling with his family allegedly grabbed a flight attendant, “threatened her with a pen to her neck and grabbed the handle of the plane’s door, saying he was going to jump to his death,’ to take the flight attendant with him.”
A Volaris airline plane arrives at Juarez International Airport in Mexico on September 14, 2023.
The man was able to break open the plane door, the station reported, but a passenger was able to grab the man and the crew then controlled the man.
The flight was diverted to the city of Guadalajara in western Mexico, the airline reported on X.
FlightAware shows the plane landed just after 8 a.m
Upon arrival, the airline said, the unruly passenger was taken into custody by local authorities. The airline did not identify the passenger who was detained.
Volaris reported that the aircraft then continued to its original destination.
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Motive of passenger who tried to divert plane to the US not known
The motive for the attempt to divert the plane to the US was not immediately known.
The Mexico City-based airline apologized to customers for the incident in its post on X.
“Our crew acted in accordance with established safety procedures and protocol,” the airline wrote.
Where does Volaris fly?
Volaris has destinations in the following cities:
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her at X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Volaris passenger arrested for attempted hijacking and diversion of plane to US
