A Wizz Air flight from Bucharest to Norway was forced to make an emergency landing in Malmo, Sweden, after a passenger attempted to kick down the cockpit door. The incident occurred on Tuesday evening aboard flight W63215, an Airbus A320 carrying 180 passengers.
According to Swedish newspaper Expressen, the man, a 43-year-old Romanian citizen living in Norway, suddenly left his seat, began shouting, and ran towards the cockpit. He kicked the door twice before being tackled and overpowered by several male passengers. He was also accused of trying to open two emergency exits while the aircraft was flying at approximately 10,000 feet.
Passengers reported that the situation was resolved within five minutes, and calm was restored after the man was restrained and tied to his seat. No injuries were reported. The flight diverted to Malmo, where the man was taken into police custody on suspicion of violating aviation laws by endangering passengers.
Police spokesman Stephan Soderholm stated there were no indications that the incident was terror-related. A second passenger was also taken into custody for drunkenness, but the two men were not travelling together. The flight resumed after a delay of about one and a half hours and landed at Norway's Torp Sandefjord Airport.
Wizz Air released a statement saying: 'A passenger, traveling alone, became unruly and abusive to the extent that the pilot followed our operating procedures and made the decision to make an unscheduled landing in Malmo... Passenger safety is our top priority and the airline has zero tolerance for abusive behaviour towards its passengers and staff.'
