Rioter enforces extra AUA stop

A Vienna-based airline said it was facing a five-figure loss when a plane had to carry out an unplanned stopover after a passenger started attacking cabin crew and passengers.

The Austrian Airlines (AUA) flight en route to Vienna International Airport (VIA or VIE) from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) in the United States landed at Shannon Airport (SNN) in Ireland on Saturday.

A spokesman for AUA announced today (Tues) the incident left the airline with a five-figure Euro-sum damage. He added AUA – in which Germany’s Lufthansa holds a majority share – will report the offender to the police and prosecutors. “He behaved badly – to use polite terms to describe his actions,” the AUA official said.

It is unclear why the passenger – whose nationality and age were withheld – freaked out in midair. Some newspapers report he may have been under the influence of medication. He was arrested by the police at SNN. No one was seriously injured. Around one in four of the service’s 198 passengers missed their connection flights after the jet arrived at VIA with substantial delay, but were able to continue their journeys after AUA altered their bookings.