Woman with child removed from flight after screaming at crew and shoving flight attendant
The woman became enraged after being told to “sit down” by members of the crew, reports say
Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts
Get Simon Calder’s Travel email
A woman on a United Airlines flight was met by police on landing after she “shoved” and screamed at staff members while travelling with her child.
The incident occurred on United Airlines flight 476 from San Francisco to Chicago on Sunday 13 November, and was recorded by fellow passengers before being posted online.
The resulting video shows flight attendants attempting to calm the woman as she screams on the flight, while holding her toddler in her arms.
The passenger is said to have told the flight crew that her child “needed to throw up”, and can be heard screaming “Where is it?” in the video.
Staff then told the woman to sit down, which further angered her, Fox News reported.
In the video, flight attendants then be heard saying: “Ma’am, we are landing.”
As panic grows, a member of the crew can be heard saying, “Sarah, step back. Step back. Sarah, step back” in an attempt to diffuse the situation. Another flight attendant can be seen running towards the group to help.
The woman shoved a female flight attendant, who was later taken to hospital after the plane landed at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Another woman and her three-year-old child were reportedly also taken to a nearby medical facility for observation.
United Airlines told Fox News that no injuries were reported.
Chicago Police responded to the incident and attended Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport following the “disturbance”.
The airline said in a statement: "A disruptive customer on a flight from San Francisco to Chicago was removed by law enforcement upon landing on Sunday, and one member of the flight attendant crew was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
"We’re grateful to our crew for handling this difficult situation with professionalism and for putting the safety of our team and our customers first.”
A spokesperson from Chicago Police, who responded to the incident, confirmed to The Independent that there are no new updates.
They told Fox News: "The FBI is aware of an incident at O’Hare Airport this morning. There is no current threat to the public at this time.”