American Airlines flight declares emergency over disruptive customer

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 made a U-turn over Cuba on Saturday

Flight AA2259 from Miami to Quito, Ecuador, issued a squawk 7700 alert (Getty/iStock)

An American Airlines flight to Ecuador was forced to return to the US after the crew declared an in-flight emergency.

Flight AA2259 from Miami to Quito, Ecuador, issued a squawk 7700 alert, the signal for a general emergency, on Saturday evening.

American Airlines said a “disruptive customer” in the cabin was behind the Ecuador-bound flight’s diversion.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 made a U-turn over Cuba to its departure airport mid-way through a four-hour journey to the Ecuadorian capital.

According to Flightradar24 data, the American Airlines flight had departed 47 minutes behind schedule at 8.12pm local time.

Tracking maps show that the plane climbed to a cruising altitude of 31,000 feet before looping back over the Cuban coast.

The flight landed safely on runway 27 at Miami International shortly before 10pm – just one hour and 40 minutes later.

No passenger or crew injuries have been reported.

On Sunday, passengers were rebooked on a replacement onward flight from Miami to Quito, landing at 2.50pm.

A spokesperson for American Airlines told The Independent: “On Jan. 31, American Airlines flight 2259 with service from Miami (MIA) to Quito, Ecuador (UIO) returned to MIA and was met by law enforcement upon arrival due to a disruptive customer.

“We thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their assistance in managing a difficult situation.”

It’s not the first flight to make an unscheduled U-turn this year.

In January, a Lufthansa flight to Germany was forced to return to London after pilots detected a technical issue.

According to data from FlightAware, the Munich-bound flight performed a loop over London after being forced to divert to its departure airport.

The aircraft was at an altitude of around 14,000 feet when the crew sounded the alert.

A spokesperson for Lufthansa told The Independent that the flight “had to return due to technical reasons”.

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