A United Airlines flight was forced to divert after a woman insisted on opening her personal bottle of wine and started arguing with cabin crew and fellow passengers.
Flight UA1813 was flying from Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on July 25, 2023 but was forced to divert to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) so that the woman could deplane.
One of the passengers on the flight, Blake Perkins, was able to film clips of the woman arguing with passengers and flight crew.
Perkins told his viewers that the woman had wanted to drink the wine that she had taken on board.
The Transport Security Administration (TSA) allows passengers to carry on board up to 70% alcohol by volume (ABV) with certain restrictions. However, regulations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and its partner airlines prohibit passengers from drinking alcohol on board the aircraft unless it is served by the air carrier.
In one video clip, the woman, dubbed “Wine Karen” by Perkins, can be seen repeatedly saying, “Be classy, be classy,” to a fellow passenger who asked her to sit down.
A flight attendant looked on helplessly and tried to diffuse the situation.
A second video clip shows a man, presumably a flight attendant, yelling at the woman to sit down, warning her, “If you don’t sit down, we’re going to land the plane and you’re gonna go in handcuffs.”
“Let’s do it,” the woman said, continuing her argument.
In a video caption, Perkins wrote: “Another video of the 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.”
In a statement sent to The Daily Dot, United said that the woman has been banned from United Airlines flights while it is reviewing the matter.
“On Tuesday, July 25, United flight 1813 diverted to Phoenix due to a disruptive passenger who continually refused to follow the flight attendant’s instructions to return to her seat. 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 statement said.