The aircraft was flying 38,000 feet when the pilot informed passengers over the intercom he would be making an emergency landing.

The Boeing 767-300, which was travelling from Atlanta to Los Angeles, landed in Albuquerque 15 minutes after the announcement was made.

There was no loss of cabin pressure during this time.

Jennifer Squires, who was a passenger on the plane at the time, told CNN: “I immediately thought someone was ill. A few minutes later he (the pilot) told us that because of pressure, the windshield in the cockpit arched, bubbled, and then shattered.”

.@Delta flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles diverted after windshield cracks
http://t.co/Zqn3M5H1Rj pic.twitter.com/4Em7OtTTKx

; WPTV (@WPTV) May 6, 2014

“As I exited the plane, I asked if I could see the damage,” Ms Squires, who also took the picture, said. “The pilot and co-pilot were in the cockpit, and I thanked them for getting us down safely.”

The Federal Aviation Administration stressed only the exterior pane had shattered, while the interior had stayed in tact.

“Our initial information was that the outside part of the windshield shattered but the interior part remained intact,” FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford, told CNN.

“All windows and windshields are at least double paned,” Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant said. “This is a rare occurrence but the established procedure is to divert.”

The landing is the latest in a series of incidents for the airline. In March, one of their planes , which was carrying 179 passengers, lost a wing panel mid-flight.

Meanwhile in February, the airline incurred the wrath of online mothers by telling one woman she had to cover up before breastfeeding on a flight.

That same month, a flight had to be diverted while on route to Salt Lake City after a passenger became unruly and began screaming on the plane when her sexual advances were rejected by another pasenger.