'Unruly' passenger accused of attacking crew and kicking airplane windows during a Virgin Atlantic flight has been arrested, police say

• A Virgin Atlantic flight from London was forced to divert after passengers and crew detained an "unruly" passenger.
• Police alleged a man on board got upset, became violent, and assaulted crew and a passenger.

A Virgin Atlantic flight was forced to divert to Salt Lake City on Tuesday because of an "unruly" passenger who allegedly assaulted the crew and a passenger, police said.

Salt Lake City Police Department said in a statement that 39-year-old UK resident William Stephen Hayes allegedly got upset at some point during Flight 141's route from London to Los Angeles.

After the flight crew attempted to calm him, Hayes allegedly became violent and had to be immediately restrained by passengers and the crew, police said.

"While being restrained, Hayes allegedly assaulted the flight crew and at least one other passenger, which resulted in minor injuries," police said. "Hayes also kicked airplane seats and windows."

The flight was diverted to Salt Lake City at 4:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday because of the incident, police said, where law enforcement officials arrested Hayes.

Police said Hayes was not injured during the alleged altercation and he is being held at a county jail on a federal detention hold.

A department spokesperson previously told Insider that an "unruly passenger" was "physically detained," without going into details.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told Insider that the flight eventually continued on to Los Angeles after a four-hour delay and apologized to the passengers for any inconvenience.

"The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we don't tolerate any behavior that compromises this," the spokesperson said, adding that crews are "highly trained" to handle disruptive individuals.

Virgin Atlantic denied initial reports that the unruly passenger tried to get into the cockpit during the flight.

Responding to an increasing number of unruly passenger incidents in recent years, the Federal Aviation Administration in January 2021 adopted a zero-tolerance policy and asked airports to help curb the issue and protect travelers.

As of Tuesday, there have been over 1,700 reports of unruly passengers in 2022, according to the latest FAA data. Since the zero-tolerance policy was initiated, however, the agency has seen a drop in unruly behavior while the total number of weekly flights has increased.

Tuesday's incident, meanwhile, comes as airlines and airports continue to suffer from staffing issues. The dilemma has caused delays, disruptions, cancellations, and chaos at major travel hubs around the world.