Allegiant Flight 1023 was midair when two passengers reportedly got in an argument.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — One person is in police custody after causing a disruption on an Allegiant airlines flight leaving from St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport Sunday afternoon.
Allegiant officials said the incident happened shortly after 2 p.m. when a passenger onboard became disruptive while the plane was en route to Roanoke-Blacksburg Airport in Virginia.
Pinellas County officials said two passengers had gotten into a verbal argument, with one passenger reportedly claiming to have a bomb, which prompted the plane to return to PIE.
“Allegiant does not tolerate disruptive behavior of any kind,” an Allegiant spokesperson said.
Allegiant Flight 1023 returned to PIE, where law enforcement took the passenger into custody. All other passengers were asked to deplane.
“Unfortunately, the crew are reaching their FAA-mandated time limits, so we must re-crew the flight,” the spokesperson said. “Once that is done, the flight will continue to its destination. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our passengers.”
There were no reported injuries on the flight, officials said.
This is a developing story. Check back with 10 Tampa Bay for more updates.
