An Air Canada plane had to divert and was delayed 3 hours after a 16-year-old assaulted a family member mid-flight, police say

• An Air Canada flight was diverted on Wednesday, eventually landing in Calgary three hours late.
• Police said a 16-year-old was restrained by crew and fellow passengers after assaulting a family member.
• He was arrested and taken to hospital for a medical evaluation.

An Air Canada flight was diverted on Wednesday after police say a 16-year-old boy assaulted a family member.

Flight AC137 from Toronto to Calgary diverted to Winnipeg just over an hour into the journey, per data from Flightradar24.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it received a report about an unruly passenger at about 12:20 p.m.

It added that the investigation determined a 16-year-old from Alberta, "assaulted an adult male passenger who was identified as a family member."

The suspect was then restrained by airline employees and fellow passengers, according to the police.

They added that he was arrested and taken to hospital for a medical evaluation, while the family member was treated on scene for "minor physical injuries."

Flightradar24 data shows the Airbus A321 took off from Winnipeg at 2:47 p.m., meaning it was on the ground for just over two hours.

The flight eventually landed in Calgary about three hours after it was initially scheduled.

Air Canada did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment, sent outside Canadian working hours.

Unruly passenger behavior has been taking place more frequently since the pandemic.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported 1,161 such incidents in 2019, compared to 2,031 last year. Although they have been decreasing since the aviation industry bounced back from COVID in 2021, when there were nearly 6,000 unruly passenger incidents.

Despite this, 2023 also saw the lowest percentage of flight cancellations for a decade, just below 1.2%, according to the US Department of Transportation.