BA flight diverted to Boston after British man attacks travel companion
A transatlantic British Airways flight had to be diverted after a British man allegedly assaulted a woman on board.
Flight 195 from London to Houston was diverted to Boston Logan International Airport yesterday (Wednesday) after reports the passenger had assaulted his travelling companion and had to be restrained by other passengers.
A statement on the Massachusetts state police website said 48-year-old Darren Halliwell, of Aspull, Wigan, Manchester, had been arrested on arrival at Boston.
He has been charged with interfering with a flight crew and is due to appear in a court in Boston today.
The police statement said additional charges related to the alleged assault are possible.
It also said that ‘out of respect for her privacy’ it would not name the travel companion or comment on her relationship to the defendant.
BA issued a statement which said: "Our customers and crews deserve to enjoy their flights, and not to suffer any form of abuse.
"This sort of behaviour will not be tolerated, and the Captain took the decision to divert the aircraft to Boston as a precaution.
"The matter will now be handled by the police."
The incident comes just days after Jet2.com charged a passenger almost £5,000 after his alleged unruly behaviour forced a flight from Leeds Bradford to Alicante to divert to Toulouse.
The airline confirmed it has sent the passenger an invoice for £4,809 to cover its costs and also handed him a lifetime ban.
It intends to prosecute him for causing the diversion.
Jet2.com launched an ‘Onboard Together’ programme last month and has recently called on other airlines and operators to join together to fight bad behaviour by passengers.
It said based on its own experience and research among other airlines, there has been a ‘shocking’ rise in disruptive passenger behaviour.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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