Passenger's Marijuana Break Blamed for Diverted Flight

Southwest flight from San Francisco cut short
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 31, 2018 7:17 AM CDT
Passenger's Marijuana Break Blamed for Diverted Flight
File photo of a Southwest jet.   (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

A flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles made an unexpected landing in San Jose instead, apparently because a passenger was smoking pot in the bathroom, reports CBS Los Angeles. The offending passenger was turned over to authorities upon landing, and the other 32 people on board had to be placed on other aircraft. The unidentified man lit up in the restroom and set off a smoke alarm, say multiple passengers. An airline statement confirmed that the flight was diverted because "a customer was allegedly smoking in the aft lavatory," per NBC Bay Area.

Southwest made no mention of marijuana, but those on the flight say the smell was obvious. "It looked like that someone needed to smoke a joint on a plane, and he went into the bathroom, smoked his blunt, and set off the fire alarm," says passenger Jonathan Burkes. No word on what kind of trouble the booted passenger is in, but smoking itself is illegal on planes, regardless of what's in the cigarette, notes CBS. (More Southwest Airlines stories.)

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