Two Hawaiian Airlines Flights Diverted Over Incidents

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports:

For the second time today, a Hawaiian Airlines flight was diverted back to Honolulu this afternoon due to an incident involving an alleged unruly passenger. Hawaiian Flight 22 departed Daniel K. Inouye International Airport at 1:05 p.m. today for a direct flight to Seattle.

“Approximately two hours after takeoff, our captain was notified of a passenger who refused to comply with the federal mask mandate and caused a disturbance to other guests. Our flight attendants, along with an off-duty pilot, were able to de-escalate the situation,” said Hawaiian Airlines spokeswoman Tara Shimooka.

The Associated Press reports:



The first of two incidents took place Thursday morning shortly after 7:30 a.m. local time, when Hawaiian Air Flight 152 departed for Hilo. The flight was diverted back to Honolulu after a 32-year-old passenger allegedly punched a flight attendant two times.

Company spokesperson Alex Da Silva confirmed that “a passenger assaulted one of our flight attendants, who was walking the aisle, in an unprovoked incident.”

Da Silva also said the passenger’s alleged assault on the flight attendant was not sparked by mask non-compliance. After being evaluated, the flight attendant was “released from work to rest,” Da Silva added.