San Francisco: On December 27, 2024, during United Airlines Flight 189 from San Francisco to Manila, a business class passenger allegedly urinated on a fellow traveler, leading to his permanent ban from the airline.
Approximately four hours into the 15-hour flight, Jerome Gutierrez, a resident of Hillsborough, California, was asleep in his seat when he awoke to find himself soaked from the stomach down.
“He was asleep and buckled in and was surprised when he looked at the man and thought he was dreaming,” Nicole Cornell, Gutierrez’s stepdaughter, told SFGATE in an email, and after the man had finished, “Jerome realized he was soaked from his stomach down in that man’s urine.
Cornell wrote that United flight attendants asked Gutierrez “not to approach the man in fear that there would be a confrontation, and he would become violent.” Cornell said that United provided Gutierrez with pajamas to wear after he was urinated on.
Flight attendants advised Gutierrez not to confront the individual to prevent potential escalation. Cornell criticized the airline’s handling of the situation, stating, “They put the needs of the airline before my stepdad’s health. I am so disgusted and in shock with how United Airlines handled this! That is a biohazard, and the plane should’ve turned around to address this issue.”
Upon arrival in Manila, United Airlines reported the incident to local authorities. The airline confirmed, “On December 28 we asked police to meet our flight when it arrived in Manila to address a passenger disturbance. We have banned this passenger.”
This incident is not isolated; similar occurrences have been reported in the past. In November 2022, a drunk man allegedly urinated on an elderly woman in the business class of an Air India flight. The accused was arrested, and the airline banned him from flying for 30 days.
United Airlines has faced other recent challenges, including the discovery of a body in the wheel well of a plane landing in Maui, originating from Chicago. The airline and local law enforcement are investigating the wheel well incident.
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