Passenger booted off flight after disputing $12 blanket
A man has been kicked off a flight bound for Hawaii after a dispute over the price of an in-flight blanket.
The 66-year-old man had been on Hawaiian Airlines flight #HA7 from Las Vegas on Wednesday when he complained about having to pay $12 for a blanket.
According to Los Angeles Airport Police spokesperson, the man made a threatening comment that saw the pilot elect to dump fuel and divert to Los Angeles.
“He was upset about the charge for the blanket and asked for a corporate phone number,” Rob Pedegro said.
“They provided him with it and he said, ‘I’d really like to take somebody behind the woodshed over this’.
“They diverted the aircraft because of that statement.”
An airline spokesperson said the flight was just an hour into the journey when the decision as made to divert.
“Our flight crews are responsible for the safety and comfort of all passengers on board our flights and the captain in charge of the aircraft is entrusted with determining when it’s best to deplane an anxious or unruly passenger,” the airline said in a statement.
“Diverting a fight is clearly not our first choice, but our crew felt it was necessary in this case to divert to Los Angeles and deplane the passenger before beginning to fly over the Pacific Ocean.”
Witnesses said they heard the man complaining about the cold before he asked for a blanket.
Passenger Eileen Bertsrom told CBS it was a “ridiculous” decision to divert the plane.
“First of all, it costs $12,000 for them to land here and it’s a $12 blanket,” she said.
The man was escorted off the plane at LAX, but police and federal authorities later found the man wasn’t a threat and he was released without charge.
The man was still able to fly to Hawaii on a different airline, LA police said.
Flight #HA7 eventually departed for Hawaii after the dispute and arrived nearly four hours behind schedule.
