Passenger booted from flight for singing non-stop

Washington, May 14 (IANS/EFE) A passenger was booted off an American Airlines flight en route from Los Angeles to New York Monday when she would not stop singing Whitney Houston's hit "I Will Always Love You".

The plane's pilot made an unscheduled stop in Kansas City about halfway through the six-hour flight after passengers and crew complained about the woman's incessant singing.

American Airlines spokesman Joe McBride told local Kansas City KCTV that the woman's behaviour was "disruptive" and that she was removed from the aircraft for "interfering with the flight crew".

Because the woman would not stop singing the Houston hit, the pilot declared an emergency and requested clearance for an emergency landing at the Kansas City airport, McBride added.

Once on the ground, police boarded the plane, handcuffed the passenger and removed her from the plane.

The airline refused to let the passenger board another flight.

In a video recorded by a passenger on a cellphone and then posted on the Internet, the woman is seen being removed by police from the flight, still singing the hit from "The Bodyguard", the 1992 film starring Houston, who died in 2012, and Kevin Costner.

After being questioned by police, the passenger was released without being charged and told the media that her diabetes sometimes caused her to engage in ridiculous behaviour of the sort that got her kicked off the flight.

While on the ground in Kansas City, the aircraft refilled its fuel tanks, then it took off again and arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy airport without any further problems, albeit an hour late, the airline said.

--IANS/EFE

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