- A United Airlines flight bound for Amsterdam was diverted to Chicago due to a passenger’s dissatisfaction with the available meal options.
- The passenger, seated in business class, was disappointed that his desired meal was not available during the flight.
- To safely land in Chicago, the plane had to release fuel to reduce its weight.
A United Airlines flight en route to Amsterdam had to divert its course to Chicago after a passenger became disruptive over the lack of his preferred meal choice.
According to The Guardian, the upset passenger, who was seated in business class, expressed dissatisfaction with the in-flight meal options.
The flight departed from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston at 4:20 p.m. on Sunday but ended up landing at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport just two hours later. Photos posted on Twitter by Flightradar24 revealed that the United plane had to circle the airport and release fuel in order to safely land.
—Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 10, 2023
Flightradar24’s post stated that the flight was redirected to Chicago due to an unruly passenger. Later, another Twitter user named XJonNYC shared a photo of United’s internal communication indicating a “threat level 1” onboard. This level is defined by the Federal Aviation Administration as the lowest level of threat involving disruptive behavior that is suspicious or threatening.
In subsequent posts, XJonNYC mentioned that the passenger was enraged because his first choice of meal was unavailable and also mentioned that the passenger appeared to be intoxicated.
—🇺🇦 JonNYC 🇺🇦 (@xJonNYC) July 10, 2023
XJonNYC also shared a photo showing the United flight being asked to remove the disruptive passenger at O’Hare Airport before refueling and continuing its journey to Amsterdam.
United confirmed the incident in a statement to The Guardian, explaining that the flight was diverted to O’Hare International Airport due to a passenger disturbance. Law enforcement met the aircraft at the gate and escorted the passenger off the plane. The aircraft then resumed its journey to Amsterdam.
ABC Chicago reported that the plane successfully landed in Amsterdam on Monday.
Flight diversions are not uncommon. In a similar incident, a Jet2 flight to Manchester had to divert to Bilbao, Spain, so passengers could use the bathroom as the lavatories on board were out of order. Another incident involved a Frontier flight that was diverted to Atlanta after a passenger threatened others with a box cutter. The flight was originally heading to Tampa.
United Airlines has yet to respond to Insider’s request for comment.
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