A passenger caused a disturbance aboard a United Airlines flight from Houston to Los Angeles on July 25, 2023. Videos recorded by passenger Blake Perkins and originally shared through the TikTok account @bperkins33 showed the woman arguing with passengers and members of the flight crew.
According to captions accompanying the videos, the confrontation involved the woman being refused wine. United Airlines confirmed that the passenger repeatedly refused instructions to return to her seat, although the airline did not independently confirm that wine caused the dispute.
Editor's note: The TikTok videos originally featured in this article are no longer publicly available.
Contemporary reports describing the footage said another passenger firmly instructed the woman to sit down. A flight attendant also warned her that the aircraft would be diverted and that she would be removed if she continued refusing the crew's instructions.
United Flight 1813 was subsequently diverted to Phoenix, where law enforcement officers met the aircraft and removed the passenger. The flight continued to Los Angeles later that evening.
United Airlines said the passenger was temporarily barred from future United flights while the company reviewed the incident. The airline did not publicly identify her.
The incident demonstrates how refusing a flight crew's instructions can disrupt a journey for everyone aboard and potentially result in removal from the aircraft.
For more stories about confrontations in public places, read Karens in the Wild: A Guide to Identifying the Species.