Georgia Woman Refuses To Hang Up Her Phone Causing Delta Flight To Return Before Taking Off

A Delta Air Lines flight recently was forced to return to the boarding gate right before taking off from Miami to Atlanta. The reason for the unexpected turn of events was an unruly passenger who refused to hang up her phone.

The flight, which was scheduled to operate from Miami International Airport to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, did not take off. The pilots and crew decided to get the entitled passenger to deplane. But the woman refused to turn off her phone, leading the staff to ask everyone else to exit the flight.

46-year-old Shannon Marie Harris was on a phone call for a really long time, as the Delta Air Lines flight prepared to take off. At first, flight attendants approached her and asked her to end the call before takeoff.

However, she refused and turned hostile. She hurled profanities and abuses at the flight crew, prompting frustration among the other passengers in the aircraft, owing to the delay in takeoff.

Since the flight was already taxiing and the woman refused to disconnect the call, the pilot made the decision to returned to the boarding gate, so that Harris could be removed.

The ensuing drama was far from over. When the flight returned to the boarding gate, Harris was asked to exit, but she refused. It was then that the pilot announced another option.

Using the aircraft’s communication system, he said that if the unruly passenger would not deplane, he would have to ask the remaining passengers to leave the flight. In a viral video recorded at the moment, frustrated passengers could be seen chanting “get off the plane” as soon as the pilot’s announcement was heard. The flight attendants were reportedly heard asking everyone to remain calm during the chaotic circumstances onboard.

A spokesperson for Delta Air Lines commented on the incident in a statement. The spokesperson said, “A customer did not comply with repeated crew instructions to end their phone call while the aircraft was taxiing out. The customer became disruptive, and the aircraft returned to the gate where [the passenger] was removed from the aircraft.”

After a few moments, Harris finally got up and tried exiting the aircraft along with the remaining passengers who were asked to deboard. It was at this point that she was quickly taken into custody. Officers from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office arrested her, along with another unidentified passenger.

She was initially charged with misdemeanor trespassing but was later released on a $5000 bond. Unfortunately, the commotion delayed the flight by an hour from its scheduled takeoff.

Delta Air Lines later issued another statement apologizing to the remaining affected passengers. They stated, “The safety of our customers and crew comes before all else, and Delta has zero tolerance for disruptive behavior. We apologize to our customers for this experience and delay in their travels.”