Unruly passenger forces London-to-Los Angeles flight to land at Salt Lake City; individual arrested

A commercial flight from London to Los Angeles Tuesday was forced to divert from its intended flight path due to an unruly passenger, officials said.

Virgin Atlantic flight 141 took off from London Heathrow (LHR) but was forced to land before reaching its anticipated destination of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after the passenger’s disturbance, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The plane landed at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), where the disruptive passenger was taken into custody, the spokesperson said.

The specifics of the disturbance are not immediately known.

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A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said the airline diverted the flight to ensure the safety of the passengers.

“Due to a disruptive passenger onboard flight VS141 operating from London Heathrow to Los Angeles on Tuesday 26 July, the aircraft diverted to Salt Lake City to be met by police authorities,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we don’t tolerate any behavior that compromises this. We always want our customers to have the best experience when they fly with us and our cabin crew are highly trained to deal with any individuals that may impact that experience for others.”

“The flight continued to Los Angeles arriving just before 20:00 local time with an arrival delay of approximately four hours,” the spokesperson added. The airline apologized to the passengers for the inconvenience.

The Virgin Atlantic flight then refueled and ultimately reached LAX around 7:30 p.m.

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A flight from London to Los Angeles typically runs about 10 or 11 hours.