United Airlines Flight Delayed 4 Hours After Crew Dispute

A United Airlines flight from Des Moines, Iowa, to Chicago faced an unusual delay after a reported altercation between two flight attendants forced the airline to replace the entire crew. The incident occurred before takeoff on Monday Oct. 27 and resulted in a four-hour delay for passengers.

The situation began when the flight attendants reportedly got into a disagreement on board. A United internal message cited by Paddle Your Own Kanoo and One Mile at a Time stated: “Disagreement on 2 of the FAs (Flight Attendants). IFDM (Inflight Duty Manager) pulling all crew and will need to recrew flight.” As a result, passengers were asked to deplane while United assembled a replacement crew.

Originally scheduled to depart at 11:26 a.m. local time, the flight finally took off at 3:24 p.m. and landed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 5:09 p.m. ET—more than four hours behind schedule.

While disagreements among crew members are rare, they occasionally lead to operational disruptions. In July 2022, an Alaska Airlines flight was delayed after two pilots had a dispute, and in 2023, a SkyWest flight faced a similar delay when two flight attendants refused to work together, a situation later shared on social media by ESPN anchor Ashley Brewer.

Passenger safety and professionalism remain top priorities for airlines, but such incidents highlight the challenges of maintaining harmony in high-stress environments like air travel. United Airlines has not yet commented publicly on the altercation, but the flight eventually arrived safely without further issues.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, yahoo.com