United Airlines flight 20 from Houston to Amsterdam dumped fuel, and then diverted to Chicago, after the business class passenger in seat 11G melted down over not having his first choice of meal available. After removing the passenger and refueling at O’Hare, the flight just landed, about three and a half hours late.
#UA20 from Houston to Amsterdam jettisoning fuel prior to diversion to Chicago due to an unruly passenger. https://t.co/aAyj03wnLY pic.twitter.com/FzGN6090MC
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 10, 2023
Aviation watchdog JonNYC shares internal United communication showing that the diversion was due to “Disruptive pax on board, seat 11G, threat level 1” which is the lowest level of threat – however they wouldn’t have chosen to make the costly decision to divert (delaying the flight, incurring additional crew cost, and giving up all that fuel) unless the passenger was extremely unruly.
— 🇺🇦 JonNYC 🇺🇦 (@xJonNYC) July 10, 2023
Unsurprisingly, according to a top tier MileagePlus elite relayed by JonNYC, the man appeared to be intoxicated.
On the one hand, it’s hard to imagine becoming enraged over not being given one of the meals that United Airlines serves. More likely almost seems to be anger at whatever meal United hands you, since their catering has lagged competitors significantly coming out of the pandemic. On the other hand, if you’d figured out what meal was likely least bad, and then learned you wouldn’t be able to find refuge with it, receiving something that seems even worse does seem stressful. When I flew United business class internationally last year they ran out of food and nobody rioted (‘the food is awful and there’s not enough of it!’).
Since it’s unlikely that the passenger was served enough by crew to become intoxicated prior to the meal, it’s a good bet they’d been drinking prior to departure from Houston.
They should start putting a small padded jail cell next to the toilet to hold these people so they don’t have to divert.
who pays for the clean up of the dumped fuel? That is the most outrageous outcome of this.
Preorder your meal if it’s that important. It’s one meal in a lifetime of meals…get over it.
Its becoming of United not having enough choice meal in business class,the host/hostess don’t know how to explain the situation. This has happened to me twice and lacks the choice of premium spirit (Hennessy,,etc). Hopefully they will improve on passenger care.
If he was intoxicated then it’s United’s fault – not his. His judgment is impaired and he is not responsible for his actions. Alcoholism is a disease. United should have the meal he wants if he is in business class (it’s not like he is flying coach). If he has the money to fly business class he should be treated with respect.
Well I have something to say about this. I just flew Delta from msy to atl. The flight had not one empty seat. The audio for flight preparation was so loud it hurt. When an attendant passed by i said ” Would you please turn down the volume “. He came at me in an extremely vicious manner. He said” it’s that loud so you can hear it.” I replied”it is hurting my ears”. He said “Would you like it if they turned the plane around then your ears wont hurt anymore”. I just looked at him in disbelief as he called the captain trying to have me thrown off. I heard him on the phone saying I was extremely hostile and needed to be removed. The captain said no, Thank god. The attendant was a black male around 20 or so very arrogant and loudly flirting with younger women. I wondered about the position of power this inarticulate loser had been bestowed and wondered how many times this has happened before. Never have I ever been so disrespected on an airline. I am 60 yrs old and my husband is a million miler. Bite me Delta.
What an entitled lot we in the West and especially in America have become. Oh my goodness, he didn’t get his steamed vegan organic rice and vegetables coupled with 17-year-old balsamic vinegar. And for this he will disrupt the lives of probably 200 people. His passport deserves a red stamp right across the front of it so the airlines will always know who they are dealing with
The passenger must have been inebriated to think there was a “good” meal on United. We had one “meal” on UA 195 from Munich to San Francisco including a salad with no dressing. Two “snacks” filled in the remaining (many) hours. They were junk food. One included a small serving of fruit, which was a blessing.
Let him go to jail until United is reimbursed after endangering every passenger and crew member with an unscheduled landing! The problem in today’s society is that we tolerate this nonsense.
@Bam I’m assuming the flight was high enough that the dumped fuel vaporized instantly so there isn’t really a clean up, per se. At least a specific physical location.
Having food as a part the comfort of flying is a bad idea. Complaints of the wrong food, bad food, cold food will be plentiful.
There are so many incidents of unruly passengers that cost inconvenience for other people and cost.not to mention physical harm. I think these people should be banned from all airlines.You should not have to be subjected to that kind of behavior
A uniquely American problem…..along with guns, and low IQ….and failed geography tests…and standard of living….and lower life expectancy….
Shame them! Where’s the name, pic, video? Everyone should be refunded for the inconvenience. Make your “entitled” income providers pay more.
I’m a former flight attendant. I’m putting my money on the jerk was drunk!! Those who cause the most trouble have usually had a few too many drinks in one of the airport bars. Then once on board the plane, they become experts on everything from where to seat passengers to the food served….even on how to fly the plane! You can meet all kinds on a plane. The good, the bad, the ugly and the drunks!
Can we publish the outcome of these disruptive passengers as it seems there is no prosecution in many cases,no deterrent.
This idiot should be fined and. Never allowed to fly again ever
The flight left from IAH, where there is a Polaris Lounge. You can get a full sit-down meal, or choose the buffet. I’ve turned down many meals onboard because the FA want to start serving meal within :30 after takeoff. As a 1K, I get my first choice 100% of the time and most times… I do the pre-order meals 5 days out. I’m very fond of the 4 cheese hamburger on domestic flights.
My last international Polaris flight, there were 2 meals served – it was a 6 hour flight. I ate half of one and none of the 2nd meal.
@Win Whitmire, are you a Purser? I’m a 40+ year intl’ F/A and am also trained on how to diffuse a situation. I’m just curious when you state you instructed the F/As not to serve passenger alcohol. They must have just stepped on the line that day because I’m fully aware when to stop serving alcohol and don’t need anyone to instruct me when to do so.
@denise you must be drunk yourself! United at fault?!
This is why there should be a social credit score system.
@Denise Costanzo
The man is still responsible for his actions.
Claiming alcoholism is no excuse!!
United could easily address this if they consistently allowed passengers to pre-order meals prior to flights.
Send him the bill. The whole amount he cost the airline and the delayed passengers.
– a pilot
It would be good if we could be told, will he be prosecuted,?(he for sure, should be) And the outcome of action taken by United.
I think there is more to the story. Ever since the pandemic, customer service is almost non-existent. After some experiences I have seen with flight attendants, I would bet that the attendant had something to do with the issue.
I have no idea how bad this guy was, but sometimes I wonder if airlines are so interested in asserting their intolerance of bad behavior that they’d go to these lengths instead of consoling or otherwise letting the guy “win.”. I mean, I don’t care if he was obnoxious, the decision to dump fuel and waste everyine else’s time rivals or exceeds the obnoxiousness of a cranky business passenger. Pointing the finger wouldn’t satisfy me
How spoiled and entitled is this guy to throw a tantrum because the airline didn’t have his first choice of meals? What is he, a 2 year old? Any experienced flyer knows that to travel the one thing you have to be is flexible. It’s a plane, not a 3-star restaurant, and no one will die of starvation on a flight anywhere. If the worst thing that happened to him on his trip is he had to “settle” for a different meal, he is doing OK by any standard. They should ban him and other self-centered disrupters from flying anywhere, ever.
For those saying it’s United’s fault, consider that the alcohol consumption can start long before boarding an aircraft. Folks can also add alcohol to refillable cups before boarding as no one is checking. But yes we can agree there should be stricter rules in place for in-flight purchases of alcoholic beverages.
The food on board are and disgusting.
Airlines, are choosing cheap Caterers to save money.
Those were the days in which they respected their passengers.
Let other passengers handle it, because who wants delays, especially unnecessary ones. Zip tie ’em and turn them over to authorities at the destination. Then a lifetime ban from flying.
I call BS on alcoholism being a disease. That’s a choice. My family member died from CANCER. Not of her choosing.
So- I was on UA20 and I warned the #United gate staff after he harassed me and others at the bar before the flight even started boarding!
I was just sitting there doing last-minute work emails, having a glass of wine and some water on my way to my father’s funeral.
He walks up, loudly announces himself and just gets in everyone’s face. He was an obnoxious jerk – just completely out of line.
I even quietly remarked to a man sitting next to me at the bar, whom he had already insulted, that if That Guy was seated anywhere near me on the flight, I would request a seat change.
He was so LOUD and obnoxious, everyone within 100’ knew he was “off”
After ignoring his harassment as I finished my wine and water, I went out of my way to find a United employee who stated she was gate area support for the Amsterdam flight to warn her and the crew!
We chatted for a minute or 2 about him within 10’ of where he was still downing his “Rum + Diet” so she not only heard him, she saw exactly who he was, even commenting on his shirt!
That was at least 20 minutes before boarding.
#United KNEW.
And yet…
Why is the media ignoring the real story here?
I gave statements to multiple United employees, one whom boarded in Chicago after That Guy was ejected as well as several flight attendants. They all noted my seat number, and the Chicago United employee, who seem to be either security or investigative even took my cell phone number.
I have not heard a word from United.
smh
My sister-in-law and I just flew to and from Bosnia-Herzegovina on United and had a wonderful experience. We are not frequent fliers but upgraded to business class and flew Polaris. The attendants were great, the food was delicious, and served at just the right temperature. We selected our menu item a week ahead and got exactly what we wanted. There were no delays. I would bet the jerk was intoxicated before he ever boarded. We would welcome the opportunity to fly United again!
I can’t believe United rerouted the flight for one passenger who was not an imminent threat. First, and the biggest issue, is the dumped feel. This day and age of climate change why are we dumping fuel? Secondly, what about the other passengers who arrived to their destination three and a half hours late? How many people missed connecting flights because of one jerk? And for the folks saying that it’s United’s fault that he was drunk, he was not given enough alcohol to be drunk on the plane. He was drinking beforehand. That’s his responsibility. I agree with the comments about how entitled some folks are getting. I don’t care what class of seat you’re in, you don’t have the right to inconvenience hundreds of other people because you don’t get the meal you want. You’re lucky to get some food. If you don’t like the service pick a different Airline next time, but don’t put everybody else out.
I hope the irate passenger has to pay for all fuel dumped.
Well throw the asshole out the window and see if he can fly. No food or drink should be served on any flight except water, bring your own sandwiches. I always bring my sandwiches after I pass through security as I hate airline food.
@ Denise Costanzo,
Omg, alcoholics make all kinds of excuses and now you are making one for him saying he has a disease and is not responsible for his behavior?! He inconvenienced hundreds but he is a drunk so we need to excuse him for his actions? I know people with diseases that control them to lead normal lives. He needs to learn. Maybe hitting rock bottom out of a plane…
What was it we had for dinner tonight?
Well, we had a choice of steak or fish.
Yes, yes, I remember, I had lasagna.
I just landed in Dubai on United flight from Newark. I submitted Vegetarian meal request, I was told their kitchen sent very few Vegetarian meals. One passenger who demanded Vegetarian meal , the crew was rude and asked him to eat Smashed potatoes in the chicken meal
Lesson to be learned: Next time you’re going to Amsterdam, fly KLM instead. Best airline meal I’ve ever eaten. And that was in economy class too. Granted, that was quite a few years ago, but I think KLM pays more attention to service.
I agree. Air France has always had better then average meals whenever I’ve been on board.
Overall, I think most European airlines serve better meals.