Plane Diverted, Passenger Detained After Writing 'I Love Allah' on Form

A Vueling Airbus A321 plane. Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A Vueling plane flying from Paris to Cairo made an emergency landing last week after a passenger wrote "I love Allah" on a medical form, according to France 24.

Flight VL8522 was rerouted to Rome last Tuesday after the cabin crew had concerns about the behavior of a 29-year-old Egyptian passenger, the French broadcaster reported.

According to unnamed Italian officials, cited by France 24, the man started to feel unwell on the flight and had to sign a form stating that he would take medication at his own risk. He reportedly included the words 'I love Allah.'

"It seems as if a member of staff saw the words 'I love Allah' on the form, which led to the flight's emergency landing," an unnamed Italian official said, per France 24.

Upon landing in Rome, the man was arrested by Italian police. A video obtained by the news outlet shows him becoming increasingly agitated as he is apprehended.

He can be heard shouting in Arabic, Italian, and broken English that he is from Egypt, that he wants help, and that he didn't cause any problems.

An eyewitness, who was sitting nearby the passenger, told France 24 that the passenger did not appear to cause any disturbances during the flight.

He was eventually released and no legal action was taken against him, according to France 24.

Italian airport officials did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.

A spokesperson for Vueling told Insider in an email that the flight was rerouted for “security reasons due to the inappropriate behavior of a passenger.”

The spokesperson said the airline followed “established protocols” to ensure the safety of passengers.

It added that this required the intervention of security officials, though it didn’t comment on whether this was specifically related to the content of the medical form.

November 17, 2023