A Qatar Airways flight from New York to Doha has been forced to land at Manchester Airport this morning because of a disruptive passenger on board. Police and officials are preparing to meet the plane
A
plane was forced to make an unscheduled landing at Manchester Airport
this morning because of a 'disruptive passenger' on board who was drunk
and had to be restrained by staff.
The
New York to Doha flight had already completed about half of its journey
but will now be delayed after being forced to land and sitting on the
tarmac for two hours,
Police
arrested the man when the aircraft landed at Manchester Airport this
morning. A female passenger on the train also reported being unwell and
was taken to a nearby hospital.
The flight made the unscheduled landing at about 9am today and was sat on the runway for more than two hours before it took off again at about 11am. Police met the Boeing 777 on the tarmac and a man was removed from the plane and arrested.
Officers said he had been restrained on the plane by staff after becoming drunk during the long-haul flight.
A spokesman for the airport said: 'There is a disruptive passenger on board this flight and because of this the plane is making a stop at Manchester.
'As well as handling agents Greater Manchester Police will also be there to meet the plane before it sets off again.'
The spokesman said pilots of the QR702 flight had not declared an emergency but had said they needed to land this morning.
When the flight landed a woman reported feeling unwell and was also taken off the flight with her husband and taken to a local hospital for checks. Qatar Airways said it will aim to get her on the next convenient flight.
The plane took off from New York at around 9.45pm local time last night (around 2.45am BST) and was due to land in Doha at around 5pm (2pm BST) - but will now be significantly delayed.
Passengers on board had already completed more than half of their 13 hour journey.
The Qatar airways flight was forced to make an unscheduled landing at Manchester Airport this morning