Transatlantic Delta Air Lines passengers had an unexpected layover in Ireland to have an 'unruly customer' removed
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
- A Delta Air Lines flight unexpectedly stopped in Dublin on Wednesday.
- A man in his 30s was arrested after an incident on board, the Irish police told Business Insider.
- The Delta flight eventually continued to Atlanta, where it landed nearly three hours late.
Delta Air Lines passengers had an unexpected layover on Wednesday when their transatlantic flight diverted to Dublin.
Flight DL83 was 90 minutes into its journey from Paris to Atlanta when it changed course toward Ireland, data from Flightradar24 shows.
The Airbus A330, which had departed nearly 20 minutes late, then spent nearly two hours in the Irish capital.
Images shared on social media appeared to show a man being led off the plane in handcuffs.
Ireland's police force, An Garda Síochána, told Business Insider it charged a man in his 30s after being arrested following an incident on an aircraft. The man was due to appear in court that afternoon.
⚠️ Diversion ????????♂️????
— Shauns_Aviation????????✈️ (@Shauns_Aviation) November 27, 2024
Earlier this morning, Delta Airlines flight #DL83 / #DAL83 Diverted to Dublin Airport due to a Disruptive passenger.
The aircraft landed safely and was met by Dublin Airport Fire Service as precaution as they were landing overweight.
The disruptive passenger… pic.twitter.com/5lYtJrrCSY
A Delta spokesperson told Atlanta News First that the plane had to stop in Dublin to remove an "unruly customer."
Aviation A2Z reported the fire service was standing by at Dublin Airport because the plane had to make an overweight landing. It couldn't dump fuel, given it was set to continue flying across the Atlantic.
Dublin Airport did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.
The plane left Dublin before landing in Atlanta at 3:31 p.m. ET — almost three hours later than scheduled.
"Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior and will work with law enforcement authorities to that end," the airline said in its statement to Atlanta News First. "We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel."
Delta did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular US working hours.
This wasn't the first time a transatlantic flight has had to divert to Ireland.
In May, a United Airlines flight from Zurich to Chicago turned around after a passenger's laptop got stuck in their seat — posing a potential fire risk due to its lithium battery.
And back in 2019, a Condor flight from Germany to Mexico diverted to Ireland after a pilot spilled coffee on the plane's controls.