A bride and groom headed to Costa Rica for their wedding got kicked off a United flight set to leave Texas on Saturday afternoon.
The couple, along with their friends, was flying from Salt Lake City and stopped for a layover in Houston, where they were scheduled to board United Airlines Flight 1737 headed from Houston (IAH) to Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR), KHOU reported.
Michael Hohl said he and his fiancée, Amber, were the last to board the plane when they noticed a man spread out across their entire assigned row napping.
Hohl said they decided not to wake the man and instead sit three rows up from their assigned seats. He said they did not think it would matter because the flight had multiple empty rows.
“We thought not a big deal, it’s not like we are trying to jump up into a first-class seat,” said Hohl.“We were simply in an economy row a few rows above our economy seat.”
Once they sat down, a flight attendant approached them and asked if they were in their ticketed seats. The couple said they were not and asked if they could get an upgrade instead.
The flight attendant reportedly told the couple that they needed to return to their assigned seats.
Hohl said after they complied with the flight attendant’s order, a U.S. Marshal came onto the plane and asked them to disembark.
The couple cooperated and left the plane, but they are baffled as to why they were asked to leave in the first place.
“They said that we were being disorderly and a hazard to the rest of the flight, to the safety of the other customers,” said Hohl.
United Airlines claims the couple “repeatedly” tried to sit in an upgraded seat without paying for it and that the couple failed to “follow crew instructions.”
The couple rebooked their flight for the next morning, but Hohl said they will not be flying United again after their experience.
“I think customer service and the airlines has gone real downhill,” said Hohl. “The way United Airlines handled this was really absurd.”
The couple’s wedding is still planned for Thursday.
United Airlines has made headlines recently after a video showing a doctor violently dragged off a flight by authorities for refusing to give up his seat went viral.
The video generated so much outrage, President Trump denounced the incident, numerous celebrities slammed United Airlines on social media, and nearly 20,000 individuals signed a petition asking United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz to resign as a result.
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