A United Airlines plane traveling from Miami to Newark Airport in New Jersey on Tuesday night was forced to make an unexpected landing in Orlando when a passenger became "aggressive and uncooperative," as described by the airline itself.
The reason that led to the violent incident that has become viral on social media has not been revealed.
The images showed a young woman -whose identity has not been revealed so far- struggling with the crew, who was trying to restrain her.
After handcuffing her with a tie wrap, the woman ended up biting off a piece of the uniform of a flight attendant who was trying to restrain her.
The passenger hurled several insults and obscenities not only at the crew, whom she criticized for handcuffing her, but also at other passengers, including a woman whom she called "old" and said should go back to "Russia."
The flight experienced a delay of approximately three and a half hours.
Once in Orlando, the police boarded the aircraft and escorted the woman off the plane. Some passengers applauded as the woman was escorted off the plane.
The passenger was taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation and no arrests have been made at this time.
United Airlines issued a statement thanking its team for their professionalism and for protecting other travelers.
"Our flight attendants worked to de-escalate the situation and protect the other passengers, and after landing in Orlando, the police entered the plane and the passenger was removed," United said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The reason for his aggressive behavior has not yet been clarified.
Since January 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has received reports of 893 incidents of unruly passengers, which authorities consider a worrying trend.
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