A business class passenger has been banned from all United Airlines flights after allegedly urinating on another customer during a long-haul flight.
Jerome Gutierrez, a fellow passenger, said he was asleep on the San Francisco to Manila flight and woke up soaked from the stomach down in another man’s urine.
The incident occurred four hours into the 15-hour red-eye journey, leaving Gutierrez to endure the remainder of the flight in damp, smelly clothing.
The man who urinated on him was reportedly a total stranger and, instead of using the restroom, stood up and relieved himself directly onto Gutierrez.
Nicole Cornell, Gutierrez’s stepdaughter, told San Francisco journal SFGATE: “He was asleep and buckled in and was surprised when he looked at the man and thought he was dreaming.
“Jerome realised he was soaked from his stomach down in that man’s urine.”
She said that United Airlines had warned her stepfather to not approach the urinating man for fear of a confrontation that could turn violent.
She added: “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.
“They put the needs of the airline before my stepdad’s health.”
United Airlines spokesperson Anoushah Rasta confirmed to SFGATE there had been a “disturbance” on the flight and that the instigator had been banned.
“We have banned this passenger,” Rasta wrote in an email.
The Standard has contacted United Airlines for further comment.
On Saturday, British airports are working hard to keep flights departing and arriving with snow and freezing rain sweeping across Britain in light of Met Office weather warnings.
Last week, a flight from Turkey to Gatwick was forced to make an emergency landing after a teenage girl attacked a member of the cabin crew, according to reports.
The easyJet flight from Antalya to Gatwick was forced to divert to Bari in Italy after a young teenage passenger allegedly assaulted staff and threatened to stab them.
