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An American Airlines flight was forced to turn back around after a disruptive passenger began to frighten other passengers on the way from New York to Milan on Tuesday, April 8, the airline said.
AA Flight 198 departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport around 7 p.m. on Monday, April 7. Four hours into the eight-hour journey, the crew announced that the plane would be heading back to New York.
The decision to return to the departure city came after one passenger became angry because he didn’t receive his preferred meal, CBS News reports. He was also informed that he couldn’t sit in an exit row with a baby.
“The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority and we expect our customers to comply with federal regulations to follow crew member instructions. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and we thank them for their understanding,” an American Airlines representative said in a statement to PEOPLE.
After the plane was rerouted, it landed safely at JFK at 3:30 a.m., passenger Michael Scigliano told CBS News. The passengers left again on Tuesday at around 11 a.m., 16 hours after their initial takeoff.
CBS News reports that a police source said the man was released without criminal charges.
Passenger Krystie Tomlinson told CBS News that she and other passengers “noticed a scuffle in the back.”
“They were asking around if there were any police officers or Army members, or somebody who could help because there were no air marshals on,” Tomlinson said, noting that the passenger in the back “was charging at the stewardesses.”
“At some point, he charged past all of our seats and tried to barge into the pilot’s cabin,” Tomlinson continued. “Apparently, the whole thing started because of a meal choice they didn’t get. I guess they asked for it ahead of time. They never got exactly what they wanted. They also wanted to sit in an exit row. They had a baby with them, so they told them they couldn’t and apparently those two things are what pushed the person over the edge.”
“The guy was still in the back of the plane unprotected, unrestrained, which was a little bit scary considering we had a plane full of 300 people and there was no air marshal on board, and we’ve got this crazy man in the back,” Scigliano told the outlet. He also noted that the crew was “telling everyone that there were technical issues on the plane, which is even scarier.”
Both Scigliano and Tomlinson told CBS News the airline did not accommodate passengers once they returned. They noted that they stayed overnight at the airport while they were waiting to depart once again.
“I asked to use the American Airlines lounge to breastfeed and change. They said you can go in if you pay $79,” Tomlinson told the outlet.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident.
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Representatives for the FAA and the New York Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Wednesday.
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