An unruly passenger demands that the plane return to Houston Airport immediately after take-off

HOUSTON — A flight returned to a Houston airport just after takeoff early Wednesday because of an unruly passenger, authorities said.

Delta Airlines said in a statement that there were reports that a passenger on board Flight 2557 from Hobby Airport in Houston to Atlanta attempted to break into the cockpit, but that was not the case. She added that the passenger displayed “unruly and unlawful behavior towards other customers” and was interviewed by police after the flight returned to the airport.

When officers were called, police were told that someone was trying to break into the cockpit, a Houston police spokesman said. The spokesman said officers arrested a man, and no injuries were heard.

Delta said the flight departed again and arrived in Atlanta about 90 minutes later than scheduled, and did not go into details about the passenger’s behavior.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate the matter.

Last year, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launched a campaign for civility in air travel, noting that the FAA had seen a 400% increase in in-flight rage incidents since 2019 and 13,800 unruly passenger incidents since 2021.