Passengers flying with 
Southwest Airlines
from Arizona to Ohio last night faced a significant delay as an onboard altercation forced the flight to return to Phoenix. The plane was met by police at the gate, who removed one of the unruly passengers so the plane could continue the journey.
What happened onboard flight 1699?
Southwest Airlines flight WN1699 is a regular scheduled service between Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
(PHX) and Columbus, Ohio. Yesterday (Monday, December 23rd), it took off from Phoenix at 19:01, just six minutes behind schedule.
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The flight was scheduled to take three and a half hours and was due to arrive at John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CHM) at half past midnight this morning. The service was operated by a Boeing 737-700
, registered as N441WN, and departed westbound over Arizona. The flight climbed steadily, but as it reached 35,000 feet, it could be seen turning left and circling back around toward Phoenix.
Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock
Based on flight tracking data from Flightradar24, the aircraft turned back at 19:19, less than twenty minutes after takeoff. The plane could then be seen flying over the Tonto National Forest as it headed back to the airport.
It would appear the plane was not able to find an immediate slot to land as it proceeded to a holding pattern south of the city. The aircraft circled and gradually descended for half an hour before coming in for its final approach into Phoenix Sky Harbor airport around 20:30. When reached for comment early Tuesday morning, a Southwest Airlines spokesperson confirmed the airplane’s return to its origin was due to a physical altercation:
“Southwest Airlines Flight 1699 returned safely to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Monday night after a reported altercation on board. The aircraft later continued to its original destination of Columbus, Ohio.
“We apologize for the inconvenience to our Customers.”
Photo: Flightradar24
Requests for further details were forwarded to the Phoenix Police Department, which had not responded as of press time.
What happened to the passengers?
Details on what caused the altercation were not immediately available. The local police force stationed at the airport met the returning flight at the gate. According to authorities, both of the passengers were uncooperative, resulting in one of the instigators being taken off the flight.
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Speaking to Simple Flying this morning, a spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department confirmed that officers did not make any arrests from the altercation and provided the following statement:
“Neither passenger was cooperative with the criminal investigation. One of the passengers was removed from the plane prior to take off. A report was authored detailing the incident. No arrests were made.
“Additional information related to this incident remains part of the ongoing investigation.”
Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock
Once the issue had been resolved, the flight once again attempted to reach Ohio. Still operating under the flight code WN1699, the Boeing 737 departed Phoenix at 22:02 local time.
According to flight tracking data, the second attempt was more successful. The plane proceeded as scheduled and landed in Ohio three hours and sixteen minutes later at 03:18 on Tuesday morning. Resulting in a delay of just under three hours.
A boost in holiday travel
Holiday travel is expected to exceed the previous year’s, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confirmed it has hired 600 new officers to meet the surge. Earlier this month, the agency set a record for the most travelers screened in a single day when over three million people flew from airports nationwide.
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December 1st was the busiest day of 2024 so far for air travel.
Unruly passenger incidents are down from their peak in 2021. According to the FAA, there was an average of 1.9 unruly passengers per 10,000 flights during the week ending on December 15th, the most recent data available. Year to date, the FAA has received 1,994 reports of unruly passengers, down slightly from the 2,076 incidents reported in 2023.
