A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Orlando had to evacuate after a teen sent a photo of an airsoft gun to other passengers. As a result, passengers had another security check. The teen used Airdrop, which is an app that allows sharing with other Apple products.
According to a KNTV report, the flight was already about to leave the gate when several passengers received the airsoft gun photo. Some passengers thought that it was a real gun. As a precaution, passengers then left the plane and underwent another security screening for the second time. The teen didn’t get to board the flight.
No Airsoft Gun OnBoard
Following another round of security checks, San Francisco International Airport spokesperson Doug Yakel said that the teen didn’t have the airsoft gun. However, Yakel said that they still evacuated the passengers “out of an abundance of caution”.
United Airlines told Fox News in an email that “United flight 2167 departing from San Francisco to Orlando was delayed due to a security issue involving a customer onboard”. The email added that “Law enforcement officials were notified and our teams are working with them to review this matter”.
The incident delayed the flight for around 3 hours. The flight was scheduled to depart at 2 PM. However, due to the additional security checks, it took off at around 5 PM.
Disrupted Flights
Airlines had their share of disrupted flights especially when the travel demand picked up again. The FAA already recorded around 3500 cases of unruly passengers for this year alone. Most disruptions came from unruly passengers who refused to wear their masks. In some instances, passengers became violent and even attacked flight attendants. Some penalties reached thousands of dollars.
Unfortunately, these cases are not well prosecuted according to reports. The airline industry even calls for the justice department to act on these situations.
