Head lice forces emergency landing of New York-bound American airlines flight

Judelson explained in the video, “I have been at the airport for 12 hours because my flight was grounded because the lady next to me had such an awful case of lice that we had to land in Phoenix, Arizona.”

American Airlines did not immediately provide specific reasons for the emergency landing. “I look around, no one’s on the ground, no one’s freaking out. I’m like, ‘It can’t be that dire’,” Judelson said.

“But we land, and as soon as we land, this woman across the aisle from me shoots up and rushes to the front of the plane,” Judelson recalled.

Passengers were left in the dark in order to be detailed about the exact reason for the diversion until they received an email with hotel vouchers and $12 in spending money.

Judelson said that the flight crew promised more information after landing, but they were only informed that their flight to New York would be delayed by 12 hours.

Judelson’s curiosity was piqued after overhearing conversations about a lice outbreak. When he asked fellow passengers, they confirmed that the flight had indeed been diverted due to lice.

“Apparently those two girls, they saw bugs crawling out of the woman’s hair and alerted the flight attendant,” Judelson stated in his video.

American Airlines later confirmed the incident in a statement to People: “On June 15, American Airlines flight 2201 with service from Los Angeles (LAX) to New York (JFK) diverted to Phoenix (PHX) due to the medical needs of a customer.”

(with imputes from agencies)