Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Attendant Current
Other / Unknown
Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Passenger Misconduct
Flight Crew Diverted; General Police / Security Involved
Human Factors
About an hour and a half after takeoff Flight Attendant came forward to tell us (purser and myself) that a passenger was smoking in the aft bathroom. Purser went back to speak to passenger. Sometime after their conversation he walked towards aft bathroom and I was a few rows behind him. He turned around and said to me 'I am going to smoke in the bathroom again.' He smelled [of] alcohol and appeared slightly drunk. He was not slurring but he had a strange look in his eyes. I told him smoking was prohibited on the aircraft. He waved his butane lighter and opened pack of cigarettes at me and said 'I don't care I'm going to smoke.' Purser grabbed the lighter and cigs out of his hand and went forward. He then told me 'I don't care I have more.' [Purser] was in constant communication with the Captain and handled the situation very professionally. Surrounding passengers said this man was pushing and shoving other passengers in the jetway during boarding. We were keeping an eye on his behavior and he was doing some perverted thing with his tongue. Sticking it out of his mouth and snaking it disgustingly. At some point later purser went to passenger to explain the seriousness of his smoking and he shoved her hard twice. She came and told me this upfront. She called Captain with this information. Then Captain advised crew we were diverting and getting passenger off plane. Unfortunately this passenger presented clear danger to passengers and crew with his defiance of no smoking rule; shoving the purser twice; and not willing to follow any instruction from the crew.
Flight Attendant reported diverting to remove an unruly passenger.