An American Airlines plane was forced to turn around after being in the air for four hours after a man created a ruckus over his seat and the food he was given. The flight took off from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York for Milan, Italy, at 7 pm on April 7, but the captain decided to return to JFK after a passenger started scaring other passengers. 

Advertisment

He was angry about not getting his preferred meal which he had reportedly booked before hand. He was also not allowed to sit in an exit row with a baby. 

Flight 198 was supposed to take an eight-hour trip to Milan. However, when it was over the Atlantic Ocean ruckus started when a passenger got angry about the meal he was given.

Also Read: Person gets $1,000 plane ticket refunded, receives $100,000 instead. Airline insisted it was 'correct'

Advertisment

CBS News reported that he had asked for his preferred meal "ahead of time", but when that didn't happen, he got livid and even tried to enter the cockpit.

People got scared of the 'crazy man'

The man reportedly lunged at an air hostess and created a security scare on the flight. The situation was made worse by the absence of air marshals. A passenger described him as "this crazy man" in the plane ", unprotected and unrestrained."

Advertisment

Also Read: Ryanair called police on woman after the in-flight card machine malfunctioned and she couldn't pay

So, after a four-hour flight, the crew announced that the plane would be returning to New York. The captain reportedly cited a "technical issue" as the reason for the U-turn.

The plane reached JFK at 3 in the morning and was rescheduled for Tuesday morning, nearly 16 hours after the original time. 

Passengers told CBS News that the airline did not offer them anything once they reached the airport. A mother was told that she would need to pay $79 if she wished to use the American Airlines lounge to breastfeed her baby.

The man who caused the commotion was reportedly not charged with any offence and was allowed to leave. 

Meanwhile, the airline defended the pilot's decision to return to New York after being in the air for four hours.

“The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority and we expect our customers to comply with federal regulations to follow crew member instructions. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and we thank them for their understanding,” an American Airlines representative said in a statement to PEOPLE.