The plane landed more than three hours late in Amsterdam. (representative photo)
A United Airlines flight en route from Houston, US, to the Dutch capital of Amsterdam, was diverted to Chicago after an unruly business class passenger interrupted the flight because his favorite meal was not available.
Referring to flight tracking website Flightradar24, The protector reported that the flight, which departed Houston at 4:20 p.m. Sunday, was in Chicago airspace just two hours into the journey. The flight then began circling the city’s O’Hare International Airport to expend fuel to reduce the aircraft’s weight. On Twitter, Flightradar24 said the flight “jettisoned fuel prior to diversion” due to a problem passenger.
#UA20 jettisoning fuel from Houston to Amsterdam prior to diversion to Chicago due to an unruly passenger. https://t.co/aAyj03wnLYpic.twitter.com/FzGN6090MC
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 10, 2023
An hour later, aviation watcher XJonNYC shared United internal messages on Twitter saying there was a “disruptive” [passenger] on board”. The user also tweeted that the passenger was “drunk too, but the choice of meal seems to have been a point of anger”.
F*** YOU seat 11G https://t.co/urPOTexksfpic.twitter.com/TnPAvmnXJW
— 🇺🇦 JonNYC 🇺🇦 (@xJonNYC) July 10, 2023
In a statement to The protectorthe airline said: “United Flight 20 from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Amsterdam was diverted to O’Hare International Airport and landed safely after a passenger disturbance. Law enforcement officers met the aircraft at the gate and escorted the passenger off the plane. The plane then continues to Amsterdam.”
Separately, according to Flightradar24, the flight landed in Amsterdam more than three hours late. It’s still unclear exactly what meal the unruly passenger had become upset about.
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Meanwhile, speaking of unruly passengers, the International Air Transport Association reported earlier this year that incidents involving unruly passengers increased by 47% in 2022 compared to the previous year, with an incident occurring once in every 568 flights.
Last month, a violent female passenger in the US was also arrested and dragged off a Southwest Airlines plane from New Orleans. The 25-year-old Kansas woman, identified as Kamaryn Gibson, was reportedly drunk and continued to hold her feet up as she sat on the plane and kicked the passenger in the seat in front of her.
After causing a stir, she was asked to get off the plane peacefully, but “she refused to leave the plane several times,” said Capt. Jason Rivarde of Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. As a result, the pilots were forced to return the plane to the gate to evict the unruly passenger.
