Not only did the unruly passenger cause the divert, but he also caused a cascade of other problems for the airline due to the divert having to occur.
As far as the passengers yelling at the airline staff, Im of the opinion that was uncalled for. If Spirit doesn't fly flights into IAH, what are the airline's options? Would they be expected to schedule pax on other airline flights? Since its not like they have aircraft waiting there to change pax to, much less ground handling etc. Why the pax would've been kept out on the ramp in the aircraft without air conditioning is unknown, but I wouldn't think the crew would've wanted that anymore than anyone else. Would that have been a decision by airport ops? Or the airline?
In any event, one unruly pax caused a pain in the ass for his fellow pax, for the flight crew, and for the Airline.
Maybe he didn't like window seat view.
Story and video here:
http://gma.yahoo.com/blind-passenge...y-landing-101506825--abc-news-topstories.html
As far as the passengers yelling at the airline staff, Im of the opinion that was uncalled for. If Spirit doesn't fly flights into IAH, what are the airline's options? Would they be expected to schedule pax on other airline flights? Since its not like they have aircraft waiting there to change pax to, much less ground handling etc. Why the pax would've been kept out on the ramp in the aircraft without air conditioning is unknown, but I wouldn't think the crew would've wanted that anymore than anyone else. Would that have been a decision by airport ops? Or the airline?
In any event, one unruly pax caused a pain in the ass for his fellow pax, for the flight crew, and for the Airline.
Maybe he didn't like window seat view.
An unruly, 81-year-old blind passenger aboard a Spirit Airlines red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Florida forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in Texas for a 14-hour layover with about 100 on board.
Spirit Airlines Airbus A319 from Los Angeles took off on time at 9:58 p.m. PT Saturday and was scheduled to land at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at 6 a.m. Sunday -- but it didn’t arrive at its destination until 19 hours after it left Los Angeles.
Midway through the flight, however, the disruptive passenger forced the pilot to make an emergency landing at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport, where the roughly 100 passengers remained for most of the next day.
The elderly blind man was kicking and screaming, passengers told ABC News Ft. Lauderdale.
Passengers were reportedly kept in the plane on the tarmac for an extended period, without air conditioning, before being allowed into the terminal. The airline then told the waylaid passengers that they would be shuttled by bus five hours north to Dallas, because Spirit does not operate a flight between Houston and Ft. Lauderdale.
Passengers then became irate, yelling and screaming at airline staff.
"It was terrible. It was unreal. It was painful," passenger Theresa Shaviano told Local 10.
In a statement released today, Spirit Airlines said the disruptive passenger was turned over to the Houston Police Department.
Spirit Airlines eventually decided to fly the passengers in a different plane, and the flight arrived in South Florida about 8 p.m. Sunday, 14 full hours after the scheduled arrival time.
The airline said time constraints with the crew prevented the original plane from taking off from Houston.
"We understand that this has been an inconvenience for our customers, but the safety of our customers is always the top priority," the airline said in a statement. "All customers are being given full refunds for this inconvenience."
Story and video here:
http://gma.yahoo.com/blind-passenge...y-landing-101506825--abc-news-topstories.html