A United flight from Eagle, Colorado to Newark, New Jersey made a stop in Denver due to passengers becoming frustrated with a sick traveler. The Boeing 757-200 was diverted on March 8th amid growing global concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

A United Airlines Boeing 757-200 landing at Amsterdam Schipol Airport
Agitated customers forced the United Boeing 757 aircraft to make an unexpected stop over the weekend. Photo: Benjamin van Waart via Flickr

Unruly group

The Albuquerque Journal reports that a group of fliers on flight UA1562 started to become disruptive while someone next to them was coughing and sneezing.

Flight attendants tried to calm the involved passengers down but the frustrated parties refused to follow their requests. With the situation failing to cool down, crew members decided to make a turn towards the capital of Denver.

The Denver Post reports that, after landing, the passengers went on to make their own arrangements to get to their destinations. A police spokesperson shared that the incident sparked the FBI to get involved.

“There were three people who decided not to continue on the flight. They did depart the plane voluntarily," the spokesperson said, as reported by The Denver Post.

"They decided to seek their own means of transportation to get to their original destination."

United Airlines, Battery Fire, Airbus A320
The United captain's note certainly put a smile, (albeit missing a tooth) back on Lena's face. Photo: Getty Images

Inflight testing

According to the Albuquerque Journal, United shared that the passenger went through screening while on the plane and did not have a fever. It was determined that the person was suffering from allergies and was allowed to continue on the flight to his destination.

FlightAware shows that the plane left Eagle County Regional Airport ay 12:18 before stopping at Denver International at 13:27. The aircraft then left for the skies again at 14.03 before landing at its final destination of Newark at 19:25.

The public is increasingly becoming more anxious about traveling amid the spread of coronavirus. Airlines are continuing to cancel flights by the day due to the drop in demand.

Additionally, US-based airlines have been meeting with the White House to discuss issues related to the outbreak. Moreover, United recently amended its refund policy, which may have been as a result of coronavirus-related losses. 

According to Worldometer, there are currently over 47,000 active cases of coronavirus across the world. As of today, 587 of these cases are within the United States.

Coronavirus, United States, Arrival Airports
Chinese airlines have been the worst affected by the virus. Photo: Getty Images

Ongoing issues

While authorities are constantly revising their approaches to tackling the outbreak, many members of the public have been on edge. Altogether, from cancellations to passenger responsibility, airlines have been rocked by the outbreak.

Simply Flying reached out to United for comment on the diversion that happened on the way to Newark from Eagle. We will update the article with any further announcements.

What are your thoughts on the flight being diverted? Were you one of the passengers on this plane? Let us know what you think of the situation in the comment section.