A man traveling with his wife and two young children attempted to force a Mexican domestic flight to divert to the United States early on Sunday because he claimed his life was in danger if he remained in Mexico.
The incident was confirmed by Mexican airline Volaris, which said that a passenger had used ‘force’ in an attempt to get the pilots of the packed Airbus A320 aircraft to fly over the US border.
“Volaris reports that this morning on Flight 3041, which was flying from El Bajio to Tijuana, a passenger attempted to use force to divert the planes towards the United States,” a statement from the airline explained.
Tijuana, located directly on the border with the US and adjacent to San Diego, is one of the most crime-ridden cities in the world. Despite recent attempts to fight drug cartels and organized crime, the city still suffers an average of at five murders every single day.
The 31-year-old Mexican suspect has allegedly told local authorities that he had received death threats on his life if he landed in Tijuana and, therefore, wanted to force the plane to land across the border in the United States. The threat was apparently only received after the plane took off.
According to prosecutors, the man fought a flight attendant and then tried to get into the cockpit of the plane before being overpowered.
“The crew acted in accordance with established security procedures and, as per protocol, the plane was diverted to Guadalajara Airport,” the statement from Volaris continued.
“All passengers, crew and aircraft are safe,” the statement added. The passengers continued their journey to Tijuana on the same plane just two hours after the plane had diverted to Guadalajara.
Enrique Beltranena, the founder and chief executive of Volaris, which is one of Mexico’s biggest airlines, thanked the pilots and flight attendants “for their bravery and commitment in protecting the safety of everyone on board.”
“We thank the customers on board for their composure and support and apologize for the incident,” Beltranena added.
