Woman, 87, 'restrained' after causing disturbance on board transatlantic flight

A transatlantic flight was forced to divert to Shannon Airport in Ireland last night after an 87-year-old woman allegedly assaulted an air steward.

The woman, who was reportedly travelling in first class on the Air Canada flight from Germany to Toronto, had to be restrained by cabin crew as the plane was unexpectedly diverted.

The plane landed at around 8.15pm local time where Irish police were waiting to take her into custody.

The woman was eventually released without charge and will undergo a fit-to-fly screening to assess her ability to continue her journey.

Police have not indicated why the woman caused the disturbance.

The Boeing 777-300 jet was over 1,000km north-west of Shannon when the crew was forced to turn around.

Flight crew alerted the pilot who contacted the Irish Aviation Authority's (IAA) North Atlantic Communications Service centre at Ballygirreen in Co Clare, who advised to land at Shannon, reported the Daily Mail.

Aviation fuel had to be dumped over the Atlantic to ensure the jet could touch down within safe landing weight limits, reported the Irish Independent.

The crew initially reported a problem with the fuel dumping procedure, but the issue was resolved.