New York-bound flight makes emergency landing after lice spotted in passenger's hair

"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," he recalled. "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.'"

The airline assured passengers they would receive more information upon deplaning. Instead, they were informed that their flight to New York would resume in 12 hours, with little explanation about the cause of the delay.

In a statement issued to PEOPLE, an American Airlines spokesperson said, "On June 15, 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."

Judelson described the bewilderment among passengers when they received emails about hotel vouchers upon landing in Phoenix. Judelson noted that American Airlines provided $12 for food expenses.

Judelson eventually learned the reason for the emergency landing through overhearing fellow passengers discussing a lice outbreak. "I heard them talking about it again, and then tapped them on the shoulder and was like, 'Did you say lice?'" Judelson recalled.

The passengers confirmed that the flight was grounded due to lice, and that the women who had been evading questions at the gate had been seated next to the infested individual.

"Apparently those two girls, they saw bugs crawling out of the woman's hair and alerted the flight attendant," Judelson explained.

Despite the 12-hour layover, American Airlines did not issue a formal statement about the lice outbreak, leaving many passengers in the dark. When boarding resumed, tensions flared as the two women refused to sit in their original seats, where they had first spotted the lice.