by Donald Wood
Last updated: 4:15 PM ET, Fri September 9, 2016
On Thursday, a British Airways flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Boston when a reportedly drunk passenger attempted to get off the plane midflight.
According to the Daily Mail, British Airways Flight 2039 was en route from Gatwick Airport in London to Orlando International Airport when the captain called for the flight to be diverted to Logan International Airport in Boston at 4:15 p.m. local time.
Witnesses report the 24-year-old unnamed passenger from Scotland was wandering the cabin allegedly intoxicated when he asked flight attendants if he could get off the plane. Crew members tried to calm the man down, but the pilot ultimately made the call to divert the plane.
Upon landing in Boston, Customs and Border Protection officers arrested the man and he was charged by Massachusetts State Police for interfering with a flight crew.
"Our customers and crews deserve to enjoy their flights, and not to suffer any form of abuse," British Airways said in a statement to ABCNews.com. "Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated, and the appropriate action will always be taken. We'd like to apologize for the delay to the other customers on the flight."
A passenger on the flight-30-year-old Mark Christie-told the Daily Mail about the ordeal.
"The drunk guy got on the flight and became increasingly... drunk. Then he started wandering around and asking if he could get off. I think that was the worry," Christie said. "Eventually he needed to be babysat by two cabin crew at a time. Then the pilot came through to try and calm him down. And he obviously decided it was better to land in Boston. Folk were kind of annoyed by the end of it, but more so because of the delay."
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