United later confirmed to WHAS 11 in Louisville that the flight was overbooked and that the airline had asked for volunteers to give up their seats. When nobody volunteered, the airline asked a handful of passengers to forfeit their seats – including the man seen in the video. But the passenger reportedly refused to budge after claiming he was a doctor who needed to get home to his patients. The airline later confirmed in a statement that a passenger aboard Flight 3411 – which was delayed by two hours – refused to leave the aircraft, at which time security was called.
“Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked,” United said in a statement. "After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate. We apologise for the overbook situation.”
