Local News

Officials: Violent passenger causes diversion of Boston-bound JetBlue flight

The unruly passenger allegedly punched a female passenger and claimed to be the devil before being taken into custody.

updated on January 10, 2024

1 minute to read

A man claiming to be the devil allegedly became violent on a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale to Boston Thursday night, causing the aircraft to make a pit stop in Orlando.

The passenger, who was not named, was seated in the back of JetBlue’s flight 170 when he became unruly and punched a woman believed to be traveling with him, WCVB reported.

The flight had departed from the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport just before 10 p.m., according to Fox 35 Orlando, but changed course to Orlando so authorities could remove the two passengers from the plane.

A spokesperson for the Orlando Police Department told Fox 35 that one of the passengers was intoxicated and taken to an area hospital for treatment.

One of the flight’s passengers, Leo Ruiz, witnessed the mid-air mayhem and shared a video on social media of authorities removing the man from the plane.

“[Flight attendants] put her inside the bathroom, and he tried to punch the door and take her out of the bathroom. It was pretty scary,” another passenger told reporters at Logan International Airport.

In Orlando, passengers had to exit the plane so it could be refueled and a new co-pilot could arrive, Fox 35 reported. The flight eventually made it to Boston around 4:30 a.m.

In an email to delayed passengers, the airline said there wouldn’t be a refund because the incident was out of its control.

“This disruption is considered an uncontrollable disruption; meaning it’s due to events outside of JetBlue’s control (things like Air Traffic Control or weather disruptions) and, unfortunately, does not qualify for customer compensation or reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses,” the e-mail stated.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly attributed a quote to Leo Ruiz.