Flight attendant refuses to help disabled passenger, gets 'aggressive', tries to have her removed

A strange scene unfolded on a United Airlines flight when an attendant got aggressive and refused to help a disabled passenger keep her cane and small purse in the overhead bin. A report by View from the Wing states that the “elderly disabled” passenger was seated at the first-class bulkhead.

Since the woman was sitting in a bulkhead row, she was not allowed to keep her belongings with her. So she asked the flight attendant to help her out. However, reportedly, this angered the attendant, who "got super defensive and aggressive".

The female passenger was caught off guard and didn't know why the attendant was acting this way. She explained that the reason she asked for help was that she was disabled and could not do it herself. The woman added that she had never witnessed such a reaction when making a similar request in the past. 

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However, the flight attendant got extremely angry and insisted that the lady was "being unreasonable". Another passenger came to help her and put her bags in the overhead bin. The attendant maintained her aggression and "angrily slammed the bins closed and stomped back to her jump seat", as per the report.

The attendant didn't drop the matter here and went to the captain of the flight. The plane moved back, and as the passengers waited, the pilot announced that “there had been an incident" and the plane was heading back to the gate. The attendant called security and claimed that she felt uncomfortable because the woman was "talking down to her". 

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Other passengers who had witnessed the scene unfold were shocked to hear them say this. The security soon ascertained that there was no threat onboard the plane and got down. The woman passenger was not removed from the flight. 

The attendant didn't seem to take it so well, and it was clearly visible in her safety announcement. As per the website, she doled it out "in the most eerie, overly cheerful, almost sociopathic-sounding voice."

The attendant reportedly claimed that "union regulations" prohibited her from helping the woman. Notably, flight attendants don't generally need to help passengers load their bags in the bins, although, as per the Department of Transportation regulations, they should help those who ask for it.