A passenger on a Mexican domestic flight tried to force it to land in the US
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- A passenger on a Mexican domestic flight tried to force it to divert to the US on Sunday.
- The incident occurred on a Volaris flight from El Bajío to Tijuana.
- A witness told Fox 5 San Diego he saw a man grab a flight attendant and hold a pen against her neck.
A passenger on a Mexican domestic flight tried to force the aircraft to divert to the US, the airline, Volaris, said.
Volaris said the incident occurred on Sunday morning on Flight 3041 from El Bajío to Tijuana.
It added that the flight was diverted to Guadalajara in central Mexico, where the passenger was handed over to the authorities.
Flightradar24 shows the plane landed in Guadalajara 46 minutes after taking off from El Bajío.
A passenger told Fox 5 San Diego that the man who was apprehended grabbed a flight attendant and held a pen against her neck before trying to open one of the plane's doors. Another passenger and crew members restrained him.
A Mexican government statement cited by Bloomberg said the man was a 31-year-old Mexican traveling with his wife and two children. The report added that the man told cabin crew members he had received death threats and would be in danger if he traveled to Tijuana.
Volaris said in a statement in Spanish that it regretted the inconvenience caused and that the safety of passengers and crew members was the airline's highest priority.
In a post on X, Volaris' CEO, Enrique Beltranena, apologized to the passengers on the flight and thanked them for their composure and support.