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An unruly passenger delayed travelers by nearly four hours when he was arrested at London Heathrow Airport last Thursday.
Saudia Flight 119, from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, touched down in the British capital shortly before 1 p.m. local time.
However, flight-tracking data shows how the Boeing 787 Dreamliner stopped on a taxiway at Europe’s busiest airport.
Images shared on social media appear to show several emergency vehicles around the jet, and a set of rescue stairs parked by the door.
London’s Metropolitan Police told Business Insider that officers were called to an aircraft, “following reports of a disturbance.”
They added that a 33-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft, damaging an aircraft, behaving in a threatening or disorderly manner toward an aircraft crew member, and two counts of assault.
The Sun reported that a passenger punched a crew member before trying to open the cabin door.
“He has since been released under investigation as enquiries continue,” the police said.
Following the incident, the same Boeing 787 was scheduled to fly back to Jeddah, operating Saudia Flight 120.
It was supposed to take off two hours after Flight 119 landed, but was delayed a further three and a half hours, per Flightradar24.
Initially set to reach the Red Sea port city at 10:55 p.m. local time, arrival was pushed back until 2:11 a.m. early Friday morning.
Saudia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to data from the Federal Aviation Administration, there have been just over 1,000 reports of unruly passengers so far this year.
That means 2025 is set to have the lowest number of incidents since before the pandemic, with incidents soaring fivefold to nearly 6,000 in 2021.
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