Delta Airlines Controversy: Man Kicked Out From Flight Because He Needed To Urinate

Kima Hamilton, 39, a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was removed from Delta Airlines flight 2035 from Atlanta to Milwaukee on April 18 because he needed to use the restroom urgently, reports said Wednesday.

Hamilton had made his quick run at the bathroom after waiting for almost two hours. He asked for permission once but was denied access to the lavatory. After 30 minutes had passed, he made a run for it. Once he came back he was escorted off the plane along with other passenger following which he was grounded. The flight left with the other passengers and arrived more than an hour and a half late at Milwaukee.

Fellow passenger Krista Rosolino recorded Hamilton’s ordeal. In the videos Hamilton is heard apologizing repeatedly explaining that he was only trying to avoid an unpleasant incident.

“I’m not really clear on why I’m being asked to leave this plane. I purchased this ticket. I had an emergency. I had to pee,” Hamilton is heard saying in the clip.

“I tried to hold it the first time and you said I absolutely couldn’t and I’m being kicked off the plane?” he added. “I need to talk to you outside,” replied the crew member.

“The pilot came on and said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry for the inconvenience but we have to return to the gate and remove a passenger.' It escalated to that point that fast,” Hamilton told Milwaukee’s Journal Sentinel.

Another Delta employee came in and asked Hamilton to leave. On stepping off the plane he met FBI officials who were waiting for him. Hamilton recalled, “[An agent] said he came to arrest me, but realized after our conversation that some of the language that was associated with my name wasn’t accurate.”

Hamilton had to buy a Southwest flight ticket, three times the price, to get to his hometown.

Rosolino said that Hamilton was refunded a part of his fare. She could not confirm whether he would press charges against the company. Rosolino wrote an open letter to Delta Airlines about the incident and promised to never fly with the airlines again.

Delta sent a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday , saying, “Our flight crews are extensively trained to ensure the safety and security of all customers. It is imperative that passengers comply with crew instructions during all phases of flight, especially at the critical points of takeoff and landing .”

This is not a secluded incident. Harassment aboard an airplane, it seems, is quite common now. A doctor was dragged off an United airline flight on April 9 as he refused to give up his seat to a company official on a crowded flight. The video went viral.

A flight attendant sparked off a conflict on an American Airlines flight on Friday, when he snatched off a stroller from a woman and her baby.