An American Airlines passenger is ordered to pay $40,000 to the airline for disrupting and diverting a flight

• An American Airlines passenger was ordered to pay $40,000 for disrupting a flight.
• The passenger threatened and cursed at flight crew and other passengers on board.

An American Airlines passenger has been ordered to pay nearly $40,000 after causing a major disruption on a flight and forcing it to be diverted, according to a press release from the US Attorney's Office in the District of Arizona on Tuesday.

29-year-old Cayla Farris from Hawaii was sentenced last week by a US judge to just over three and a half months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, per the release. Farris is also expected to pay $38,952 to American Airlines in restitution for costs related to delays caused by her behavior.

She pleaded guilty to interference with a crew member on September 12.

Farris boarded an American Airlines flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Honolulu, Hawaii on February 13, 2022. While on the flight, she threatened flight crew members and other passengers and swore at them.

The flight staff were unable to continue with their duties because of Farris' actions and the plane had to return to Phoenix. For other passengers, this caused several flights to be re-routed to Hawaii.

The case was investigated by The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Phoenix Police Department.

American Airlines did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment outside regular working hours.

This is not the first time an American Airlines flight has been diverted due to an unruly passenger. One flight from Miami to New York had to be diverted to Jacksonville, Florida last summer because a passenger sprayed pepper spray onboard.

Another passenger was arrested in 2022 after breaking into the cockpit and damaging the controls, BI previously reported. The man repeatedly even tried to jump out the cockpit window when a pilot tried to stop him.