An American Airlines flight was forced to divert to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) after lice was spotted crawling in a passenger’s hair.
Flight AA2201 was scheduled to fly from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in New York on June 15, 2024. However, two hours into the five hour 30 minute flight, the Airbus 321neo aircraft landed at Phoenix Airport instead.
A passenger on the flight, TikTok creator Ethan Judelson, decided to create a tell-all video explaining what happened.
In the video, which has now amassed more than 1.2 million views, Judelson said an announcement was made an hour into the flight but had not been able to hear it properly as he was wearing headphones. But he did see from the LCD flightpath that the flight had turned around. When Judelson asked the passenger next to him what was happening, he was told that they had to land in Phoenix due to a “medical emergency”.
Judelson said passengers remained calm and the flight was able to land safely in Phoenix.
However, he said that passengers were not given any information, with flight attendants saying that airline staff at the gate will provide details.
At the gate, passengers were informed that they could get on another flight in 12 hours, but were still not provided with information as to why they had to divert in the first place.
Judelson said that only two women on the flight seemed to know what occurred, but would not say what. Passengers were then provided with meal and hotel vouchers for the next 12 hours.
The following day, Judelson got to speak with fellow passengers, who informed him that two women saw lice “crawling out” of another passenger’s hair during the flight.
The women then informed the flight attendants and the decision was made to ground the plane soon after.
Judelson said he felt “itchy all over” after finding out about the passenger’s lice infestation but, finding humor in the situation, said that he at least received $12 and got to visit Phoenix.
An American Airlines spokesperson confirmed with AeroTime that American Airlines flight 2201 with service from Los Angeles to New York was diverted to Phoenix due to the “medical needs” of a customer.
The airline said that the flight continued to New York the following day with a replacement aircraft.
