United flight from Houston to Amsterdam diverted to Chicago due to ‘passenger disruptions’

A United Airlines flight from Houston to Amsterdam was diverted to Chicago on Sunday due to an unruly passenger, the airline said.

“United Flight 20 from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Amsterdam was diverted to O’Hare International Airport and landed safely following a passenger disruption,” the airline said in a statement to USA TODAY.

“Law enforcement officers met the plane at the gate and escorted the passenger off the plane. The plane then continued to Amsterdam.”

The airline did not say what caused the disruption, but The Guardian reported that a business class passenger became upset after learning his first meal choice was not available.

According to flight tracking site FlightRadar24, the flight took off at 4:20 p.m. local time in Houston on July 9. According to The Guardian, the plane had to circle O’Hare International Airport several times to try to dump its fuel before landing. otherwise the plane would have been too heavy to land.

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Unruly passengers are on the rise

A recent analysis from the International Air Transport Association shows that incidents involving unruly passengers increased in 2022 compared to 2021.

According to the analysis, there was one unruly incident for every 568 flights in 2022, compared to one for every 835 flights in 2021.

The most common incident categories in 2022 were non-compliance, verbal abuse and intoxication.

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Delta flight diverted last month due to unruly passenger

In June, a Delta Air Lines flight was diverted after an incident with an unruly passenger.

The flight, connecting Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, was diverted to Atlanta, where it was met at the gate by law enforcement and continued onward. destination with a new crew.

Delta did not provide details about the incident, but said in a statement that the airline does not “tolerate threats and abuse of any kind against our employees.” The airline added that it was in contact with the flight attendant to provide support and was cooperating with authorities in their investigation.

“At Delta, the safety and well-being of our customers and crew is and always will be our number one priority,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Contributor: Emily DeLetter

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: United flight diverted to Chicago due to unruly passenger