Woman banned from United Airlines after wine uproar forced landing

A major airline has banned a woman from flying with it after she allegedly caused pilots to divert a flight after having a showdown with cabin crew.

Airline bans woman after cabin crew row. Picture: Blake Perkins / TikTok

United Airlines has temporarily banned a woman from flying with it after she allegedly caused pilots to divert a flight to Los Angeles after arguing with flight attendants about wine.

The woman, who has not been identified, caused a “disruptive” scene on the July 25 flight from Houston to Los Angeles when she “refused to follow the flight attendant’s instructions to return to her seat,” United Airlines said in a statement.

The melee caused the LA-bound flight to divert to Phoenix, the New York Post reports.

Videos of the uproar shared on social media captured the moment a flight attendant warned the woman to take her seat or the flight would be forced to land in Arizona.

“Sit down,” the attendant repeatedly screamed at the woman, who continued to talk over him and tried calling his bluff.

“Just land,” she can be heard saying while trying to talk about a spat she was having with another passenger.

One of the flight attendants appeared exasperated arguing with the woman, urging her to take her seat or she would be leaving the airport in handcuffs.

He also accused the woman of drinking before boarding the plane.

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

A woman forced a United Airlines flight to divert after she refused to take her seat. Picture: Blake Perkins / TikTok

One flight attendant accused the woman of drinking before boarding the flight. Picture: Blake Perkins / TikTok

The woman was also seen arguing with other passengers who yelled at her for causing their flight to be diverted.

The videos were uploaded by TikTok user Blake Perkins, who commented that his travel plans were ruined by the “Karen”.

The flight attendants yelled at her to sit down, but the woman kept refusing and dared them to land the plane. Picture: Blake Perkins / TikTok

She was also seen arguing with frustrated passengers aboard Flight 1813. Picture: Blake Perkins / TikTok

“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,” the TikToker wrote.

United Airlines said the woman was met by law enforcement in Phoenix and removed from the plane, which continued its trip to Los Angeles later in the evening.

“The customer has been barred from future United flights while we review this matter,” the airline said in a statement.

The incident is only the latest in a trend of unruly passengers disturbing flights for airlines across the nation, with United seeing another high-profile case earlier this month.

A business class passenger on a trans-Atlantic flight began harassing attendants because he didn’t receive his preferred choice of an in-flight meal.

This story originally appeared on the New York Post and is republished here with permission