As of: January 29, 2024, 5:09 a.m
By: Bettina Menzel
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An AeroMexico airliner at Los Angeles Airport (symbolic image).
© IMAGO/Markus_Mainka / Pond5 Images
The passengers of flight AM672 waited on the tarmac for over four hours on Thursday.
Without air conditioning and water.
Until a traveler took an extreme measure.
Mexico City – An AeroMexico airliner stood on the tarmac for over four hours on Thursday (January 25).
Without air conditioning or water, passengers waited for takeoff.
When, after hours, nothing happened, one of the travelers took the situation into his own hands.
The man reportedly opened the emergency exit, climbed onto the wing of the plane and returned to the cabin shortly afterwards.
It was then no longer possible to think about taking off the plane, but the unusual action at least brought the authorities to the scene.
Legal consequences could follow for the passenger.
Air traveler in Mexico City climbs onto the wing: “To protect everyone”
The incident occurred on flight AM672, which was scheduled to go from Mexico City to Guatemala City.
"The flight was scheduled to depart at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, but due to a maintenance alert on the aircraft, the captain was required to return to the gate for required maintenance," the airline's report said.
At around 11:37 a.m., the airline reported the “beginning of a disruption” due to passenger dissatisfaction.
Shortly afterwards, the man apparently climbed onto the wing of the plane.
Fresh air also entered the cabin through the emergency exit he opened.
Apparently the passenger had the full support of his fellow passengers.
Dozens of passengers signed a written statement after the action, it said.
The man acted “to protect everyone and with the support of everyone,” according to the statement from the travelers who had to wait in the plane for hours.
“The delay and lack of air created conditions that endangered the health of passengers.
He saved our lives,” continued the statement, which
was signed by at least 77 people, according to the
LA Times .
A video presumably recorded on board shows travelers fanning themselves and asking the cabin crew for water.
Authorities initially did not comment on whether “airplane climber” had to fear legal consequences
The Mexico City airport announced on Friday that the man had been handed over to the police.
Further information about his identity was not initially known.
According to the LA Times
, it is
still unclear whether the passenger will remain in custody or face charges.
After the man's climbing action, a change of aircraft was necessary, the report continued.
Flight trackers indicate that flight AM672 to Guatemala City ended up being delayed a total of 4 hours and 56 minutes.
Such long waiting times are rare.
But in another case, passengers even had to sit in a stationary plane for seven hours.
Opening the emergency exit on an airplane in the absence of an emergency situation is extremely dangerous.
Last year, a passenger managed to open the emergency exit on a stationary plane at New Orleans airport in the US state of Louisiana.
The man also got onto the wing and apparently jumped from there to the ground.
The police were quickly on the scene to arrest the passenger.
At the time, officials assumed it was a “mental health emergency,” it said.