Unruly fliers land here

Airport often detour point for planes in trouble.

BANGOR, Maine — Given the size of the place, the name “Bangor International Airport” might seem a little grandiose. But the airport gets an outsize share of international visitors.

Of course, many of them are accidental tourists who would rather not be here at all.

Because the airport is on the far northeastern edge of the U.S., incoming trans-atlantic flights confronted with terrorist threats or unruly passengers are often diverted to Bangor, population 33,000.

The latest incident happened Tuesday when a French passenger caused a security scare by telling a US Airways crew she had a surgically implant- ed device. The jet had been traveling from Paris to Charlotte, N.C., with 188 people aboard.

“The general public might not know exactly where Bangor, Maine, is on the map,” said interim airport director Tony Caruso. But “in the aviation industry, the Bangor, Maine name is well known, and we have a well-earned reputation for handling these types of situations.”

It’s the last major U.S. airport for jets headed east across the Atlantic and the first for incoming flights, and its runway is more than 11,000 feet, long enough for the space shuttle.

Before 9/11, the airport saw plenty of air-rage episodes, with drunken and disruptive passengers dropped off in Bangor and spending the night in the local lockup.

In the decade since the terrorist attacks, the number of diverted flights has dropped, but the cases are more likely to involve security threats, such as passengers on the no-fly list.

In a 2004 incident, a flight was diverted to Bangor after officials discovered Yusuf Islam, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, was aboard. He was on a no-fly list and barred from the U.S., so he was sent back to London.

Two years ago, a jetliner set down in Bangor after a former Air Force intelligence officer who had taken a prescription sleep aid claimed he had dynamite.

In 2008, a passenger from Ireland found himself in Bangor after he smoked a cigarette in a bathroom, punched an off-duty airline employee and made threats about hijacking or destroying the plane.

Sometimes diverted planes go to eastern Canada. But U.S. airline flights are usually brought into Maine, where offenders are subject to U.S. law.

KEVIN BENNETT / AP A passenger jet was diverted to Bangor International Airport on Tuesday during its flight from France to Charlotte after a passenger caused a disturbance.