Virgin Atlantic Airways flight VS201 from Hong Kong bound for London Heathrow was forced to return to Hong Kong International Airport after a man became "out of control," pacing up and down the plane, and ranting.

A woman from the English port city of Bristol said the man, identified only as "Robert" got out of his seat and was "roaming around the plane, shouting, ranting and being very aggressive towards the crew."

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Flight  VS201 had been in the air for about an hour and 30 minutes and was still in Chinese airspace when the incident is said to have occurred. Upon encountering turbulence as the plane approached the Himalayan Plateau near the city of Guiyang, the cabin crew ordered passengers to their seats and to fasten their seat belts when "Robert" refused to comply. 

On her Facebook back, passenger Katie Wong wrote: "He just gone out of control (sic). Talk loud and walking (h)ard. Actually he touched my shouter (sic) and go intimidated at the aisle when the captain announced we're diverting the flight."

The man was subdued by the cabin crew with straps and the plane was diverted back to its point of origin. The other passengers were off-loaded and put up in local hotels for later flights. No injuries were reported, and there was no damage to the plane.

Speaking of the incident, spokesman said: "Virgin Atlantic can confirm that due to a disruptive passenger flight VS201 to London Heathrow returned to Hong Kong and was met by authorities on arrival. Virgin Atlantic does not tolerate disruptive behaviour by passengers on-board and the safety and welfare of our passengers and crew is the airline's top priority."

"Robert" is described as being 26, and was a foreign visitor to China. Upon the flight's arrival at the gate, he was arrested and taken to a hospital for observation. No charges have yet been filed. 

TagsVirgin Atlantic