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Frontier Airlines flight diverted after passenger found with box cutter

Frontier Airlines jets sit at gates at Denver International Airport on Sept. 22, 2019, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A Frontier Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing on Friday evening in Atlanta after a passenger was found with a box cutter.

“The aircraft landed safely in Atlanta and the passenger in question was taken into custody by Atlanta law enforcement,” Frontier spokeswoman Jennifer De La Cruz told CNN.

The flight, Frontier Airlines Flight 1761, was headed from Cincinnati to Tampa, Fla., before being diverted when the box cutter was discovered.

Police reportedly took the passenger in possession of the item into custody after the plane landed in Atlanta.

The Hill has reached out to Frontier Airlines and the Atlanta Police Department for comment on the incident.


The passengers on the flight, none of whom were harmed, were provided with overnight accommodations in Atlanta, De La Cruz told CNN.

Their flight to Tampa was rescheduled for Saturday morning.

The airline industry has experienced turbulence throughout 2022 as the COVID-19 pandemic has waned.

Airline pilots and other industry employees have organized multiple strikes this year, and customers have complained of massive increases in flight cancellations and delays.

Inflation is threatening to derail some customers’ travel plans during the holiday seasons as airfares skyrocket and flight demand increases.