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Flight Carrying 4 Lawmakers Diverts to Kansas City to Remove Disruptive Passenger

The presence of four Arizona representatives en route to a key funding vote drew outsized attention.

Overview

  • American Airlines Flight 1218 from Phoenix to Washington diverted about 2 hours and 41 minutes after takeoff to Kansas City, where police removed a disruptive passenger.
  • Video shot by a traveler shows officers escorting a woman off the aircraft as she says, “We live in a fascist state.”
  • American Airlines said law enforcement met the flight, removed the customer, and the plane later departed for Washington, where it landed without incident.
  • A Kansas City city spokesperson said the individual was not arrested and was escorted back to the ticket counter to rebook.
  • Reps. Greg Stanton, Eli Crane, Andy Biggs, and Paul Gosar were aboard and continued on to Washington, where they took part in the continuing resolution vote.