Unruly Passenger Disrupts Spirit Airlines Flight, Causes 10-Hour Delay

A Spirit Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Houston Sunday after a passenger became unruly, the Houston Chronicle reports.

The captain of the Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale flight reportedly decided to divert for the safety of those on board after an elderly man became disruptive. According to Local 10 news in south Florida, the 81-year-old, who is blind, was "kicking and screaming."

Passengers were forced to spend an hour on the tarmac, and approximately another 10 waiting in Bush Intercontinental Airport's terminal, reports KHOU Houston. One passenger told the station that they were only able to get information from the departure board, which kept posting extensions to their delay.

According to Local 10, passengers were originally told they would be shuttled to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, as Spirit doesn't fly to Houston. But, Spirit ultimately sent a plane to pick up the passengers in Houston.

The man was taken into custody, but was later released and the pilot did not press charges, according to Local 10.

”We understand that this was an inconvenience for our customers, but the safety of our customers is always top priority. All customers are being given full refunds for this inconvenience," said a Spirit Airlines spokeswoman.

In May, another unruly passenger had to be restrained on a Jamaica to Miami flight. Also that month, a US Airways flight was diverted to Maine after a passenger claimed she had a surgically implanted device.