Hungary-Incheon flight makes emergency landing in Kazakhstan after South Korean woman goes on mid-air expletive tirade

A South Korea-bound flight from Hungary had to make an emergency landing in Kazakhstan on Tuesday due to unruly conduct by a Korean passenger.

The passenger, whose identity is withheld, was arrested by authorities upon landing.

Aviation industry sources said on Tuesday LOT Polish Airlines flight LO2001, which was originally scheduled to arrive at Incheon International Airport around 9:30am, was forced to land at Astana Airport in Kazakhstan because of the passenger.

The Korean woman, accompanied by her family, shouted obscene words midflight and caused a commotion, making the operation of the flight difficult.

Video footage carried by the South Korean news channel YTN showed other passengers attempting to restrain the disruptive passenger who continued to scream and curse.

As a result of the disturbance, the flight was grounded in Kazakhstan for around five hours, causing inconvenience to the 183 passengers on board.

Another Korean passenger on the flight expressed dismay, saying, “Despite efforts by the crew to intervene, the disruption and cursing continued, causing a lot of confusion. We were concerned about being detained in Kazakhstan instead of arriving in Korea to attend to our affairs.”

Following the emergency landing, the disruptive passenger was arrested by local authorities. The South Korean embassy there is cooperating with local police to investigate the incident further. The flight subsequently resumed its journey to Incheon.