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Louise Thomas

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An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to New York reportedly made an emergency landing in Phoenix after passengers noticed lice in a woman’s hair.

The incident took place on 15 June, and since then a passenger shared his experience on TikTok.

Ethan Judelson claimed that there was no communication from the airline’s staff about what had actually happened.

In the video, Mr Judelson, 28, noted that a woman rushed to the front of the plane upon landing in Pheonix.

“I look around, no one’s on the ground, no one’s freaking out. I’m like, it can’t be that dire,” he says in the video that soon went viral.

“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.”

He continued: “It just seemed like one of those people who, as soon as the seatbelt sign goes off, gets up and tries to be the first to their bag.

“So the girl next to me... we were both like, ‘Why is she so rushed to get off? We’re all getting off together, calm down’.”

He added that the flight crew promised passengers they would receive more information once they deplaned.

However, Mr Judelson said the only update they got at the gate was that their flight to New York would be delayed by 12 hours.

Mr Judelson told People, which was the first to report on this, that he learned the next day through “word of mouth” about the lice outbreak on the plane.

Two passengers reportedly saw lice in the woman’s hair and alerted the flight attendants, leading to the diversion.

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

Passengers faced a 12-hour delay and received hotel vouchers.

An American Airlines spokesperson told People in a statement: “On 15 June, 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.”

Mr Judelson noted that American Airlines didn’t provide a statement during their 12-hour layover in Arizona. When the passengers were assigned their original seats, a commotion ensued as the two women returned to the spot where they first saw the lice.

The Independent has reached out to American Airlines for further comment.

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