US Passenger Bites Flight Attendant, Prompting Aircraft to Return to Tokyo, According to Airline

An American airline passenger reportedly bit a female cabin crew member mid-flight, resulting in an All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight destined for Seattle to return to Tokyo, as stated by an airline representative.

Flight ANA 118 took off from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport at 9:47 p.m. local time and reversed course just over an hour into its journey, as per flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

According to the report, an ANA spokesperson mentioned that the male passenger was apprehended by police after the plane landed in the Japanese capital. However, the spokesperson did not disclose the passenger’s identity.

The female flight attendant suffered minor injuries, according to the spokesperson.

This incident is not the first involving alleged mid-air biting. In 2022, two passengers received substantial fines for assaulting crew members and fellow passengers on separate flights with US carriers American Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

The fines imposed were $81,950 and $77,272, respectively, representing the two largest penalties ever imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration against individual passengers for disruptive behavior on aircraft.

This occurrence adds to a series of incidents of unruly behavior and aggression by passengers reported this month. On January 3, an American Airlines flight had to be diverted to a Texas airport after a passenger purportedly punched a flight attendant and assaulted at least one police officer.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department declined to provide additional details on the recent biting incident.

It’s important to note the increasing frequency of disruptive incidents on flights, leading authorities and airlines to take stricter measures to address such behavior. The safety and security of passengers and crew remain a top priority in the aviation industry, prompting robust responses to maintain a secure travel environment.