Flight From LaGuardia to Florida Diverted Over Reclining Seat: Report

A flight from LaGuardia International Airport to Palm Beach International Airport had to divert after a pair of passengers got into a fight over a reclining seat, according to published reports.

Delta airlines told NBC affiliate WPTV in West Palm Beach that Flight 2370 landed in Jacksonville, Florida, “due to safety reasons in regard to a passenger issue.”

A witness on the plane told WPTV that a woman who was knitting tried to recline her seat, angering a woman who was trying to sleep on the tray table.

The two argued, with the woman who was trying to sleep getting angry and cursing. A flight attendant came over, the witness said, and she demanded that the flight land at the nearest airport.

"She said something to the fact that 'I don't care about the consequences, put this plane down now,'" he said.

The passenger was escorted off the plane by police when it landed at Jacksonville International Airport, WPTV reports. The rest of the passengers then continued on to Palm Beach.

It's the third time recently that authorities said a flight was diverted because of an argument over reclining seats.

On Aug. 24, a flight from Newark was diverted when passengers got into a dispute after one passenger attached a clip to a tray table that prevented the person in front from reclining, officials have said.

Days later, a flight from Miami to Paris stopped in Boston after a man allegedly grabbed a flight crew member after becoming angry about the reclined seat in front of him.

Contact Us