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.
If he was drunk, he boarded that way in Houston or was served too much too fast
Business class passengers don’t get drunk any slower than anyone else.
I’m in favor of breathalyzer tests before boarding.
Americans are so stupid they’ll divert a flight instead of resolving issues onboard.
Mostly it’s the cabin crew. They’re ruining the experience for everyone.
If someone is intoxicated & behaving badly, best to dump his/her ass at the next airport.
Large quantities of alcohol suppress the ability to reason, especially over airline food.
Wonder if UA will charge him for the cost of rerouting…that would break his bad habit of throwing a fit.
Bet you he was the type who would lose his crayons in pre-K.
All the more reason to have a no alcohol policy aboard & before a flight. I swear, it’s going in that direction.
@ Gary — Maybe if United didn’t say F-you everytime something goes “wrong” “out of their control” (like being too cheap to have sufficient resources available ever to operate their EWR schedul, while Kirby flies home private to count his money), maybe the passenger wouldn’t have been so angry to begin with.
I wish that the airlines would charge the unruly passengers for the diversion. Sure, you can’t “squeeze blood from a turnip”, but a hefty charge and take ’em to court if necessary to get a monthly garnishment from whatever income the passenger has and a ban on flying…that might help. Though few have ever read the “contract of carriage”, put that in the COC, file it with the government. I was trained to defuse issues and as a company flight instructor, know the “rules of the road”. At the behest of the captain, I have tried to resolve issues aboard. Most of the time…it works, but the passengers were not drunk or totally unruly. I actually sat on the floor with a passenger and explained that if he got back in his seat, we could continue on. I left the decision up to him. “…and if I don’t?” “Then we will divert to Denver. You will be escorted off the plane in cuffs, jailed, charged with failure to heed, interference with a flight crew instructions and banned from flying on XXX. Which we WILL DO.” He chose to return to his seat. I instructed the F/As not to serve him alcohol. I got him the sandwich he wanted. However, he was detained briefly at our arrival airport as the captain did notify our security department and dispatcher.
I have an allergy so require a special meal. I also pay for biz/first in part to guarantee I can pre-select a meal prior to boarding. I wouldn’t cause a flight to divert, but I wouldn’t need to be drunk to be livid I was getting starved on an 11 hour flight if they failed to properly cater for my request.
A lot of blame being pointed at fellow pax these days as everyone seems ready to absolve airlines of the dreadful decline in service quality at the same time they’ve raised prices.
Surely there’s a way for the design engineers to incorporate a “Trap Door” feature on these modern smart planes.
Spirit once sued a passenger who, on a flight out of DCA, claimed medical problems bad enough the airplane returned to field and was met by paramedics. They then refused treatment and wouldn’t get off the plane, with their friends saying they’d been faking it. The airline’s CEO happened to be on board. I think the airline won something like $20k judgement.
Some of the mideast carriers, while known for great service and comfort, handle disruptive passengers quite harshly… sometimes on flights to the US, if they call for law enforcement on arrival, usually CBP will deny the person entry to the US, so the airline puts them back on board and takes them back (sometimes restrained). I’m not sure I’d rather deal with Qatari police than your average US airport cop.
Seems an over reaction on the part of multiple parties
We fly United Polaris quite often, for pleasure, not business. We’re Million Mile flyers on UAL. After all of these flights, including a recent 17 hour flight SFO-SIN, our strategy for United meals is simple. Don’t eat them. They’re repulsive looking, and worse tasting. Before our last trip on UAL to Australia, we got emails from them to pick our our entrees in advance. Very nice, except when you went to pre-select your meal, you were told that the pre-select option had closed. Perfect. For the idiot that went monkey for not getting his first choice, tough luck. United should ban him from future flights.
I’m trying to think of a way to blame Biden, Buttigieg, or the FAA, but can’t. But I do blame UA. I fly KE a lot in Biz, and have never, ever had to take a second choice meal, so on my last flight I asked an FA if anyone in Biz did not get their first choice. She said everyone got their first choice. They don’t have pre-ordering, but they do stock 55 meals for 40 Biz passengers. This usually works out to everyone getting their first choice. Customer service rather than penny pinching 40 meals for 40 people choice be damned.
United’s food is just atrocious. This is United’s karma.
I have never flown to Europe on an American airline, but I wouldn’t be happy not to eat for 7+ hours. Alitalia had great food on my flight to Rome, but of course, that was decades ago. Both flights on British Airways and Air France in the last decade or so we’re good, too.
I’m with Steven M Jacoby, eat before you leave & bring snacks or rent a private plane. You are flying on public transportation & some jerk inconveniences an entire plane of passengers who are hungry, tired, flyiing with children, elderly, trying to make connections, and are not sitting in business class!!!!! Suck it up in an orange suit!!!!
Maybe if affected passengers begin suing disruptive passengers because of flight delays, rebooting, etc the behavior might end.
Glad they kicked the scumbag off the plane. I just wish they had been able to do it without having to land.
Just recently flew UA First, R/T, IAD-SFO. Prechose the meals. The outbound breakfast was gawdawful. One look and I no longer had an appetite. The most offensive looking food I’ve ever been presented with. We quickly learned our lesson. For the return leg we had a couple of fresh croissants, cheese roll and 2 soft pretzels (with spicy mustard, I mite add) tucked in our bug-out bags from Bouchon Bakery. When the meal service started, we broke them out and enjoyed, all the while feeling sorry for other passengers, having to endure the gruel UA offered.
We’re pretty much screwed when it comes to domestic airlines. It’s all a cattle car (or what I refer to as a Blivet) mentality.
Blivet. Noun. 1. Shoving 25lbs of crap into a 5lb bag.
“Flying (insert domestic airline name here) left me feeling like a Blivet.”
When I fly across the puddle, I’m usually on a foreign carrier. While not all of them know how to do it right, there are a few.
The above said, I do miss the old days. Pan-Am was the ultimate experience and service back in the day. Half a million miles in 5 years and never had a bad meal, flight or issue.
There needs to be a “wall of shame of photos of all “unruly Passenger” that required police and removal, prosecuted or not (listed by date ) posted alongside every security/search line..for entertainment of the rest of us flying passengers…in addition to the savings to the airlines in court over privacy issues, not to mention the reduction of $$ cost of the of incidents!
“Drunk” is too easy an excuse to extricate oneself out of an awkward faux pas in social settings, (and too often a successful defense in a felony.) Can’t we just put onto the no-fly list any passenger who is unruly, disruptive, intoxicated, etc? No, I suppose not, given civil rights.
Anyway, I buy a ticket for transportation, and include a granola bar and airside-filled water bottle for my on-board nutrients and medical needs. Any failure in food and beverage service calls for a post-flight reparations complaint.
Oh, dear. These days, shortcomings in food and beverage call for a tiktok and grounding stop.
“Mostly it’s the cabin crew. They’re ruining the experience for everyone.”
You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, Loretta.
Trying to make airlines as flying restaurants is a bad idea. Complaints will be the focus: too cold, too hot, wrong food, bad food. and then there’s more need to using the bathroom (lavatory, restroom),
And then there’s this, cancelled fight due to FOOD Adding more misery to flying..
I always bring my own food/snacks as a diabetic who needs to watch carbs. Usually airlines give us junky food anyway. My husband and I make sure to eat a good meal before we leave and bring healthy snacks aboard, cheese, nuts, fruit. If this passenger is like this drunk, chances are, they’re like this sober. Ban them from your airline!!!
We’re flying at 80% of the speed of sound in a narrow tube seven miles up. Anyone who intentionally endangers us should be barred for life from flying in a commercial airplane.
Someone mentioned stocking extra meals. Not only is this a huge waste, UA uses FA crew meals in the count. The FA crews have whatever is left over. Most don’t eat them anyway since airline food is ridiculously unhealthy, but it does count towards the meals.
It’s United. If he got this angry for not getting his first choice meal, imagine how angry he would have been if he’d gotten it and then tasted it!
Maybe he wasn’t drunk at all. Maybe he was just a self-entitled *sshole.
United has serious problems with its meal service. In May 2023, on a 14 hr. Flight from DXB to EWR, they offered Chicken meal to me though I am vegetarian and had requested for Veg. Only meal. The FA said, there is Nothing except Potato chips. I ended up eating the chips only for the entire flight. I didn’t lose me temper. UA never learns. It doesn’t even bother to change it’s mess.
As a United elite member, the passenger behavior was unacceptable. At the same time, everyone knows that United catering sucks. Also, there is no reason why you can’t preorder your meal on United international flights. You can on American Airlines as much as I dislike American Airlines . So United needs to work on their technology.
These flight diversions are getting ridiculous the crew could have handled this onboard without diverting. I’m seeing flights getting diverted over just lousy arguments. I know alcohol can be a factor but the biggest factor is getting harassed by TSA people feel like they lose their liberties going through the Checkpoint, TSA is worthless. I fly international alot and airports just have old fashioned metal detectors and do not CT checked bags so what good is TSA when if you want to do “something” to an aircraft just fly from another country. TSA would have to be in every airport every where in the world to be effective they are agitators. I’ve worked for a US based airline since the 90’s I can tell you this didn’t happen until TSA people still drank back then
If he was intoxicated leaving IAH he must have shown up to the airport drunk already. Getting food or beverage service at IAH is so incredibly convoluted. Scan a menu code, wait 5 minutes for the menu to appear, make your selection, wait 5 more minutes for the food and drink.
Anyone have any idea how much all that dumped fuel would cost?
The airlines do charge passengers for disruption diversions. Dumping thousands of gallons of fuel, delaying the return flight, paying ground services and departure fees at ORD all go to the passenger. If they do not pay up, DOT forwards the claim to the best collection agency in town-the IRS. They WILL and HAVE attached assets!
Serves United right. Trying to save money on meals, they now have to bear the much larger cost of diversion. Would this qualify for EU 261 compensation as well?
@James – i just got back from a trip between IAH and SYD and on both legs I could pre-order my meals. Maybe it is just on certain segments?
I’m chuckling at this. None of the commenters were there to see the actual issue. While flying, the Captain is the boss. He or she decides who rides regardless of how (self) important one might consider themselves to be. There are simple choices here. If the food is that bad, don’t fly UA. Are we such a spoilt country (US) that one throws a childish temper tantrum over meal selection, seriously? I’ve had terrible food on other countries’ airlines too, truly horrible. Buy I wasn’t drunk and would never have complained. It’s food, I ate around the horrible part and then got multiple snacks. And you know what? I survived.
I just returned last week from a United international premiere flight (my first)) and I thought the food was quite delicious and quite plentiful. My experience was quite pleasant and I will definitely do it again!! Thank you United!!
Being American is wild — we get angry when we don’t get our choice of meal while meanwhile in other countries people don’t get mad at all. Not having enough food is simply day-to-day life in many other countries.
Bad food is not limited to one airline. I recently flew Emirates and the only thing that was edible was the dinner roll. Even the desert sucked. United has an excellent sundaes in business class so not all is lost
Troy, no need to be rude. Everyone is entitled to their point of view.
Maybe Loretta had a bad experience with a surly flight attendant.
Goodness knows, I’ve witnessed them being rude and impatient with passengers.
I’m sure it’s a stressful job but often times they appear angry and frustrated prior to take off.
And “unruly” is a subjective assessment.
FOOD and FLYING should never go together. Too much room for error; and complaints. Airlines should say leave the Flying to us and the Food up to you.
The incident had nothing to do with not getting his preferred meal. So much misinformation here. The passenger was belligerent and intoxicated from the moment he boarded. It never subsided and he could not be reasoned with.
Lowest level of threat or not, just start using the no-fly list as a deterrent. Zero tolerence.
For crying out loud, why is there STILL not a National No-fly List?
Let these morons walk, or take the bus!
Sorry, this has little to do with food quality at United (or lack thereof), and all to do with how people can behave in public.
Polaris good quality is a subject for another time. They is about an entitled person who decided their lack of first choice of meal should enable them to behave no better than a child (actually, worse than a child if you ask me). Was their lack of meal choice really worth getting them kicked off the plane, not to mention delaying 200+ others? When did people decide it was ok to take the smallest things in life and make it into everyone else’s problem. United should ban him from their aircraft for life.
It is high time that airlines show the due respect to pax. Flying is s necessity. There are no alternatives and airlines always have an excuse to mistreat pax. All my frequent flyer solidarity to this gentleman. He had every right to be mad. I pay and I pretend the service I have paid for. No justifications. As for United, they will not have my biz. Ever!
I could never understand the need to eat on airplanes . You need to eat go to a restaurant . You need to eat on a flight and will faint from hunger before you land ? Sure .. $20 for a sandwich . Just watch all those lines to the lavatories disappear . Oh.. you need a glass of wine or a beer .. $20 . Watch everybody arrive sober at their destination . I’m aware that this would not apply to business and first class . If they can afford to pay a few thousand dollars more than I paid then they should get food and drinks free .
Truly baffling since UA offers pre-order to most (if not all) customers with Elite status. Even then, they overstock meals to allow for last-minute upgrades. Still, itʻs no reason to throw a tantrum when you canʻt get your desired meal.
What an entitled asshole. I work for united as a flight attendant and have never seen this happen and hope I never do. We don’t get boarded 100% of every selection so we do tend to run out of an item occasionally. We give first choices to our global and 1k customers and the rest gets what’s left. To act this way over a meal choice is absolute crap. Hope he is banned for life . There’s enough going on in this world, and not getting your first choice of meal is not the end of the world. Fly a private jet instead