Unruly passenger causes Houston flight to divert to Chicago
A United Airlines flight from Houston to Amsterdam was diverted Sunday evening after a disturbance caused by a business class passenger. Thierry Monasse/Getty Images
A United Airlines flight from Houston to Amsterdam made an unscheduled landing at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Sunday night due to the actions of an unruly passenger, according to public flight records and airline officials.
United Airlines flight UA20 departed Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport around 5 p.m. on Sunday evening for a nine-and-a-half-hour trip to the Netherlands, but was forced to jettison fuel and touch down in the Windy City thanks to the disruptive actions of a business class passenger.
The incident was first noted by the Swedish flight tracking website Flightradar24, which reported that UA20 released some of its fuel load prior to the landing. Planes fueled for long international travel sometimes unload fuel to achieve a maximum landing weight when making early unscheduled landings.
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As noted by travel journalist Gary Leff, aviation watchdog @xJonNYC posted a screenshot of alleged internal United communications documenting the incident.
"Customer Handling : UA 20 IAH-AMS diverted to ORD," the screenshot reads. "Disruptive [passenger] on board, seat 11G, threat level 1."
Threat level 1, according to @xJonNYC, is the "lowest possible threat level."
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The watchdog also claimed that another passenger on the flight said the disturbance centered around in-flight meal options.
"When morning comes around, I believe the story will be that the passenger in question was livid over the fact his 1st choice of meal was not available," @xJonNYX stated. "...was noted to be intoxicated as well, but meal choice seems to have been an enragement point."
United Airlines said in a Monday statement that authorities escorted the passenger from the flight after landing, but did not confirm whether the disturbance was food-related.
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"United flight 20 from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Amsterdam diverted to O'Hare Airport and landed safely following a passenger disturbance," the airline said in a statement. "Law enforcement met the aircraft at the gate and escorted the passenger off the plane. The aircraft then continued to Amsterdam."
The impromptu landing, passenger removal and refueling resulted in a three-and-a-half-hour delay for passengers.
Source: Chron
