A single Kaua‘i Police officer was dispatched to Lihu‘e Airport Tuesday evening after an American Airlines captain requested assistance in dealing with a disturbance on flight No. 285 from Los Angeles. Officer Chris Calio counseled a party of approximately 10
A single Kaua‘i Police officer was dispatched to Lihu‘e Airport Tuesday evening after an American Airlines captain requested assistance in dealing with a disturbance on flight No. 285 from Los Angeles.
Officer Chris Calio counseled a party of approximately 10 adults at the airport gate on how to better manage their group of eight to 10 juveniles, ranging in age from 1 to 12 years old, according to Lt. Kaleo Perez.
The “unruly” children had been throwing items around the plane and otherwise disturbing passengers despite repeated attempts by the flight crew to settle them down, Perez said. Nobody was injured.
The incident was confirmed yesterday by a Securitas Security Services night manager, who said the children “weren’t on their best behavior.”
Flight attendants told police the children had been using the same cups that parents had previously been using to drink alcoholic beverages, and one member of the flight crew described the incident as “the worst behavior that they’ve experienced in their days working as flight attendants,” Perez said.
The attendants also told the officer they planned to send a request to the American Airlines corporate office to make a recommendation that the group not be allowed to fly back to Los Angeles on the airline.
An e-mail sent to American Airlines corporate communications staff was not returned as of press time.
According to Perez, the families were polite, cordial and receptive to what officer Calio had to say, and explained that their children had grown “restless” during the six-hour flight.
The Garden Island has learned passengers arriving at Lihu‘e at roughly 8:30 p.m. were briefly delayed in exiting their aircraft.
No arrests were made and no citations were issued, Perez said. The incident, which was considered a call for assistance and not a criminal complaint, comes just days after a more serious police response at Lihu‘e Airport.
On Saturday, 55-year-old Raymond Fessler, of Idaho, was arrested upon arrival at Lihu‘e Airport after he approached the cockpit and struck a pair of female flight attendants in the face and head during a U.S. Airways flight from Phoenix, according to KPD officials.
Fessler was charged with two counts of third-degree assault and held for nearly 24 hours, then transferred to Federal Bureau of Investigation custody and charged with interference with flight crew members or flight attendants, a felony.
On Monday, Fessler was arraigned in federal court on O‘ahu and released from custody after posting bond, according to the FBI.
