Woman Banned by United After Arguing With Flight Attendants Over Wine 

United Airlines temporarily banned an unruly passenger from using the airliner after she reportedly disrupted a flight heading from Houston to Los Angeles on July 25. 

A United Airlines spokesperson told The Messenger that the “disruptive” woman, whose name wasn’t revealed, caused the flight to divert to Phoenix after she continuously refused to follow a flight attendant’s orders to return to her seat. 

The incident is one of many similar behaviors by customers on U.S. flights. Data released by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that 1,123 incidents of unruly passengers were reported in the first seven months of this year. Over 2,400 incidents were documented in 2022, while 2021 saw the highest number of unruly passenger behavior with 5,973 incidents reported.

“Incidents where airline passengers have disrupted flights with threatening or violent behavior are an ongoing problem and airlines have seen rapid growth in occurrences since 2021. The FAA has a zero-tolerance policy on unruly passenger behavior,” the agency said on its website.

Meanwhile, the woman on the United Airlines flight initially began arguing with flight attendants after one cabin crew member tried to pour her unfinished glass of wine, which she brought with her on the flight, into a plastic cup, according to CBS News.

The incident was caught on video and shared on TikTok, showing the woman refusing to return to her seat after a flight attendant repeatedly asked her to “sit down” or else the flight would be forced to land in Arizona. But, the woman continued to talk over the flight attendant and said “just land.”

Another flight attendant interfered and also asked her to return to her seat or else the flight would have to land elsewhere and she would be arrested at the airport when it lands.  He can also be heard on the video talking with her about the wine she brought on board.

“I knew you were drinking wine … and I still let you board,” he told her, according to the New York Post. “I tried to help you.”

Some passengers on the flight were not pleased that their travel plans were disrupted because they had to land elsewhere before resuming their trip to Los Angeles.

“So annoyed that we had to land so she could be arrested but also free in flight entertainment lmoa #Karen,” wrote TikTok user Blake Perkins.

In another TikTok post, Perkins wrote “another video of Karen who couldn’t get her wine. We had to land the plane so she could get escorted off and causing us even more delays than we already had. Over wine.”

The woman argued with passengers sitting in the row behind her as she returned back to her seat, according to CBS News.

“Law enforcement officials met the aircraft on arrival and removed the passenger, and the flight subsequently departed for Los Angeles later that evening. The customer has been banned from future United flights while we review this matter,” the United Airlines spokesperson said in a statement emailed to The Messenger.