There's no shortage of things passengers can do to cause a flight to go off course but complaining about inflight movies may be the latest offence that'll not only cause a diversion but result in passengers getting the boot too.
Earlier this year, a United Airlines flight set to fly to Baltimore from Denver on Feb. 2 was forced to make a diversion in Chicago after a family of four was deemed a "security concern" by the plane's captain. In a passenger report filed against United Airlines, a couple complained to two flight attendants that the inflight movie, Alex Cross, was inappropriate for their two children, ages four and eight.
The couple asked the flight attendants to turn off the movie since the film was playing on a drop down screen and there was no way for the children to avoid watching the movie's sexually-explicit" and "violent" scenes, reports the Atlantic. The film is rated 14A in Canada and PG 13 in the U.S. for its use of disturbing images, sexual content, language, drug references, and nudity.
After no success with turning off the film, the couple asked if the captain could do anything about the matter. For an hour the couple were left to shield their children's eyes from what they call 'horrific' scenes, until the pilot announced there would be a flight diversion due to "security concerns" according to the Daily Telegraph.
Once in Chicago, police boarded the plane and asked the family to disembark. They were then interviewed by local authorities. The family was put on a later flight bound for Baltimore according to ABC News.
A statement issued by United Airlines to Fox News confirmed the incident and says the airline is looking into its inflight entertainment but failed to address the family's first complaint about the pilot.
"To us, this incident raises two grave issues. First, the abuse of power by [the unnamed captain]. We understand that airline captains can and should have complete authority. However, when this authority is used for senseless, vindictive acts, it must be addressed," the passengers wrote in their complaint.
The family maintains they were calm and polite during the entire incident. MSN adds that local authorities were "incredulous" over the pilot's overreaction.
"Throughout these interactions the atmosphere was collegial, no voices were raised and no threats, implicit or explicit, of any kind were made," the letter said.
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