United Airlines Flight Forced to Make Emergency Landing After Passenger Meltdown

One's opinion of airplane food will be heavily influenced by just how much money one shells out for the ticket.

While first-class travelers have been known to receive everything from caviar and truffles to a Michelin-starred menu made with seasonal ingredients from one's destination, those unwilling to shell out several thousands of dollars to get there often associate airplane food with rubbery chicken.

DON'T MISS: United Airlines Is Phasing Out This Beloved Cookie

But for some, the type of food they'll eat aboard is important enough to start a fight and cause a plane to get rerouted.

The Airplane Meal That Reportedly Caused a Flight to Land

On July 9, a United Airlines  (UAL) - Get Free Report flight from Houston to Amsterdam was forced to make an emergency landing in Chicago after one of the passengers reportedly caused a disturbance over his meal.

The flight took off from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston at 4:20 p.m. on Sunday and, about two hours later, flight tracking sites spotted it circling around O'Hare Airport in preparation for landing.

While United has only confirmed that it "landed safely following a passenger disturbance," aviation industry insider Twitter account @XJonNYC reported that the passenger became "livid over the fact his 1st choice of meal was not available."

The Twitter account also posted photos of United internal communications showing that the passenger had been labeled "threat level 1." 

Despite being the lowest level of passenger disturbance meaning "disruptive behavior" that can be perceived as "suspicious or threatening" (level two is "physically abusive behavior" while level three is "life-threatening behavior or display of a weapon"), his actions were still enough to prompt an emergency plane diversion to Chicago.

When traveling between the U.S. and Europe, United business class fliers are typically served a full three-course meal as well as snacks and alcohol throughout the flight.

'The Aircraft Then Continued To Amsterdam'

Airline industry fanatics quickly dug up that United passengers from Newark to Amsterdam are typically offered a choice between seared beef short rib, lemongrass salmon and ricotta salata with wild honey manicotti as their main meal — presumably, the passenger from Houston was offered something similar in exchange for the typical $6,000-plus ticket. 

Details around what exactly occurred onboard are being kept quiet but United confirmed that officers came aboard to lead the passenger off once the plane landed in Chicago. The plane then continued on its original route to Amsterdam with a three-hour delay.

"Law enforcement met the aircraft at the gate and escorted the passenger off the plane," the airline said in a statement to media outlets. "The aircraft then continued to Amsterdam."

Since the pandemic, United Airlines has taken several steps to revamp its food selection — it entered several partnerships with popular snack food companies for new onboard treats, reworked its business class menus and launched a new Chicago test kitchen in which the airline's chefs try out potential meal ideas.

Dubbed Studio Ellen, the test kitchen is a nod to first female flight attendant Ellen Church.

That said, some travelers were complaining that United's business class food still had not gone back to pre-pandemic norms as late as April 2023. The changes came as a result of passenger complaints that United's onboard meals do not live up to what is offered by competitors like Delta  (DAL) - Get Free Report and American Airlines  (AAL) - Get Free Report.

Get exclusive access to portfolio managers and their proven investing strategies with Real Money Pro. Get started now.