Confusion as Flight Delayed When Passenger Discovers ‘Every Seat Was Taken’

A woman has shared footage of the moment the pilot of the airplane she was on announced her flight had been delayed because an “extra passenger” made it onboard.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimates that around 74.25 percent of flights in the U.S. are on time, meaning they arrive within 15 minutes of their allotted time. Delays can happen, but some are for more unusual reasons than others.

Yasmin, who chose not to share her last name, had been due to depart London Luton Airport for Barcelona at 7 a.m. on Saturday, August 24.

However, Yasmin told Newsweek that as time ticked towards the point they were supposed to depart, the plane “hadn’t even started moving yet.” She said: “The crew were still walking around and conversations between the crew leader and a passenger were happening at the front for about 30 minutes.”

Eventually, things settled down. It was at that point that the pilot of the plane came over the intercom system to offer an explanation. That was also the point that Yasmin hit record on her phone, with the resulting footage of her reaction to his announcement posted to TikTok under the handle @yasminleannehickl.

In the clip, the pilot can be heard explaining: “As you can see there was some confusion. They allowed an extra passenger onto the flight and every seat was taken, unfortunately. But we’ve managed to resolve the situation now.”

It’s not uncommon for airlines to overbook a small proportion of seats and have standby passengers in the event that other passengers do not show up for a particular trip. This was a little different from that, though.

An Easyjet spokesperson told Newsweek: “A boarding error on this flight, which was quickly resolved onboard, meant an additional standby passenger was allowed to board, however seats were found for all passengers and all traveled as planned.”

Yasmin, for her part, was “shocked and bewildered” that EasyJet could let this happen. Though the disruption may not have amounted to much in terms of time lost, she was unimpressed by the experience.

“EasyJet needs to be better prepared,” she said. “They are a very well-established airline and have been doing this for years, they need to show they can provide a decent service.”

The criticism comes just months after EasyJet went viral when a traveler shared her disappointment at the stark difference between the advertised food onboard during a recent journey and the actual in-flight meal she received.

Last year, EasyJet also drew criticism after more than a dozen passengers were removed from a plane after it was discovered the aircraft was “over the weight limits” and unable to take off.

Footage from another flight with the low-cost British airline in August last year also appeared on social media after the aircraft was landed because of a technical issue.