Travellers said the stewardess looked drunk, was belligerent and got extremely close to a passenger. Photo / 123RF
Travellers said the stewardess looked drunk, was belligerent and got extremely close to a passenger. Photo / 123RF
An airline has made the extraordinary move of refunding all passengers on a flight after a cabin crew member allegedly flew "out of control".
According to passenger Erika Gorman, the stewardess became "belligerent" and swore during the safety briefing on-board the United Airlines flight from Denver to North Dakota yesterday.
Erika took to Twitter to share her shock, claiming that the flight attendant said: "If your seatbelt isn't tight, you f***** up".
She also alleged the stewardess appeared drunk and got extremely close to another traveller.
Erika said in a series of now-deleted Tweets: "Thanks United, for a terrifying flight! Drunk or stoned stewardess endangered everybody's lives.
"I had to go to the cockpit and call the pilot and tell him they had an out of control attendant. The cops and an ambulance were waiting for her when we landed."
She also posted images of the flight attendant on the social media site.
United responded to Erika's Tweets asking for more details and later apologised to the customers on-board, saying it is refunding all of their airfares "as a gesture of goodwill".
The crew member, who has not been identified, was not arrested upon landing but has been removed from service while an investigation is underway.
Trans States Airlines, which operated the United flight, said in a statement that it is "aware of reports of erratic behaviour by a flight attendant on flight 4689 from Denver to Willston.
"The situation is under investigation and the flight attendant is being held out of service. The safety of our passengers and crew is our and United's top priority."
Meanwhile, there was an outpouring of support on social media for the flight attendant, with concerned Twitter users defending her against allegations she was drunk or drugged.
