A Boston-bound United Airlines flight was diverted on Sunday after both passengers and crew began vomiting due to a passenger-involved biohazard incident that forced an emergency landing in the nation’s capital.
United Airlines flight 2477 departed from Houston at 9:39 a.m. CT on Sunday destined for Boston, but was forced to reroute when a customer became sick, the airline said.
The plane, a Boeing 737-800, was diverted to Washington Dulles International Airport, landing at 1:36 p.m. ET, according to FlightAware.
“Especially with this kind of being a biohazard, I think we need to get this plane on the ground ASAP,” a pilot on board said to air traffic control in audio shared on X.
Despite the on board drama, known of the 155 passengers or six crew members required medical assistance after the plane landed in Dulles.
The crew is vomiting and passengers all around are asking for masks, etc.
The pilot also described a dire situation onboard, noting that after consulting with a doctor and cabin crew, the conditions were “really bad,” with crew members vomiting and passengers requesting masks.
A biohazard event typically involves exposure to biological substances like feces, vomit, or blood, which can spread harmful viruses and pose serious health risks.
“The aircraft is currently undergoing a deep clean and we are working to get customers on their way to Boston soon,” United said.
Flight tracking shows the aircraft is set to leave Dulles and continue its journey to Boston at 3:40 p.m. ET.
A similar event occurred back in September 2023, when a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Barcelona had to turn back after a passenger “had diarrhea all the way through the airplane,” according to air traffic control.
The Airbus, carrying 336 passengers, was forced to return over central Virginia and landed back in Atlanta just two hours after take-off.
Upon arrival back in Atlanta, the plane was thoroughly cleaned before passengers were allowed to reboard for their rescheduled flight to Barcelona. The delay pushed the departure back by eight hours from the original schedule.
It is unclear whether the passenger who experienced the gastrointestinal issue was on board when the flight eventually landed in Spain.
“Our teams worked as quickly and safely as possible to get our customers to their final destination. We sincerely apologize to our customers for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans,” a Delta spokesperson said at the time.
Sunday’s incident not the first incident to occur on the route this year.
In March, the United Airlines flight 2477, veered off the runway when the pilot failed to slow down enough.
That incident forced the evacuation of the 161 passengers and six crew members.
The summer of bizarre incidents on board flights amid the vacation season shows no signs of letting up.
On July 9, a passenger bit a chunk of fabric out of a United Airlines flight attendant’s shirt and told an ‘old lady’ she should ‘go back to Russia’ during a mid-fight meltdown.
The woman was on United Airlines Flight 762 from Miami to Newark but barely made it off the runway before she became unruly over a petty toilet squabble.
Video recorded by another traveler began after the crew restrained her wrists with zip-ties and she was wrestling with three of them.
Suddenly she bit one of their shoulders, tearing off a piece of fabric and letting it float to the floor in front of the shocked plane.
‘Stop touching me… let go of me, I’m a f**king girl, are you trying to kill me?’ she shouted afterwards.
The video cuts to the woman, now with her hands zip-tied behind her back and standing in the aisle, yelling at everyone not to fly United.
These people have an attitude problem and they don’t f**king do their jobs. They’re handcuffing me. Why are you handcuffing me?’ she yelled.
‘Why b***h? Why the f**k are you handcuffing me? Why, why, why?’
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