A “disruptive” passenger has been banned from flying United Airlines after she forced a flight to divert from its original destination, apparently after she was upset that she was not served wine.
The 25 July flight was scheduled to fly from Houston to Los Angeles, United said in a statement to The Independent. However, the flight was diverted to Phoenix “due to a disruptive passenger who continually refused to follow the flight attendant’s instructions to return to her seat.”
The airline continued, “Law enforcement officials met the aircraft on arrival and removed the passenger, and the flight subsequently departed for Los Angeles later that evening.”
United said that the woman has been banned from future flights on the airline.
The airline did not confirm the wine allegation, but a number of TikTok videos capture the turbulence between the woman and the other passengers and flight attendants, which included the passenger whining over a lack of wine.
One user, Blake Perkins, posted a video of the woman standing up and getting into an argument with a flight attendant while someone repeatedly yelled, “Sit down!” The user wrote: “So annoyed that we had to land so she could be arrested but also free in flight entertainment lmao.”
“You were crying and I gave you a hug because you told me you have anxiety,” the flight attendant appeared to say in the video. “And I knew you were drinking wine and you’re not allowed to. And I still let you board the aircraft.”
The user posted another video of the woman arguing with passengers sitting behind her with the words “Karen in flight freakout” on top of the footage. The user explained, “She couldnt have her wine so they didnt let her have her arrival.”
Arguments with flight attendants seem to be a frequent flying experience as of late.
On a flight last week, on a Southwest airlines flight, a passenger was charged with assault after “demanding” a flight attendant kiss him; he similarly claimed that he would have a panic attack if she did not go into the bathroom with him. The flight attendant said she “felt her life was in serious danger.”
In yet another case, last week an American Airlines flight attendant went viral on TikTok after describing how after the flight, a female passenger tried “to run me off the road.”
The flight attendant shared how she had to weave in and out of highway lanes as the passenger followed her, shouting insults and throwing stuff from her car at the crewmember.
“I just had to worry about my life driving home from work,” the flight attendant wrote.
