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Delta Kicks Man Off Flight for Using Bathroom and Airline Travel Is Officially the Worst

Photo Credit: Krista Rosalino

In yet another addition to the horrendous airline news we’ve been inundated with, a Wisconsin man was kicked off a Delta Airlines flight after urgently using the restroom before takeoff.

According to USA Today, Kima Hamilton tried to hold it, but as the wait to depart Atlanta en route to Milwaukee on April 18 exceeded 30 minutes, so did his need to urinate exceed his ability to stay put.

As the plane was not moving, Hamilton decided to head to the lavatory, at which point a flight attendant told him if he used the restroom, the plane would lose its place in line. So he returned to his seat to wait it out.

But he couldn’t.

Once his urgency reached the point of no return, Hamilton headed back to the lavatory and this time actually used it. It was then that he heard the pilot’s announcement to passengers:

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but we have to return to the gate and remove a passenger.

Fellow passengers Krista and Mike Rosalino, both lawyers who were seated across the aisle from Hamilton with their infant daughter, witnessed two Delta employees approach Hamilton and demand he get up. Knowing he wouldn’t be allowed back on, Hamilton calmly refused. The Rosalinos and other passengers immediately began filming the spectacle, and Krista Rosalino took to social media to express her outrage.

Once escorted off the plane with all the other passengers as well, Hamilton was met at the gate by FBI agents and Delta personnel. He was refunded a portion of his ticket price and, after a period of questioning, purchased a Southwest ticket at three times the amount of his refund. He was told by Delta personnel that his bag would be waiting for him in Milwaukee.

Hamilton apologized to fellow passengers for the inconvenience, though most were on his side and even contemplated staying put on the flight themselves as a show of support.

I have been in a similar situation before, only my story begins after takeoff but before we had reached cruising altitude. I desperately needed to use the restroom, and when the flight attendant refused to allow me to leave my seat, I threatened to expel my bowels right there in 10B. She eventually conceded.

Other passengers on a different Delta flight told Krista Rosalino that some people on their plane also had to use the restroom before takeoff, but their flight attendants gave them no trouble, allowing them to do so before the plane was in motion.

Delta responded to the incident, stating:

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.

But Hamilton’s experience, combined with that of a doctor who was violently dragged off a United flight and a mother whose stroller was ripped from her hands on an American flight, pretty much has all potential airline travelers throwing the industry some serious side-eye.

To see Hamilton’s experience in action, check out the video here.