WICHITA, KS - A Delta Airlines pilot inadvertently diverted his flight to a small airport in Wichita, KS despite there being no threat or passenger freakout underway. When questioned, the pilot stated the emergency landing was simply habit born out of flying the last 2 years during the pandemic.
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WICHITA, KS – A Delta Airlines pilot inadvertently diverted his flight to a small airport in Wichita, KS despite there being no threat or passenger freakout underway. When questioned, the pilot stated the emergency landing was simply habit born out of flying the last 2 years during the pandemic.


As veteran Delta Airlines pilot Jed Johnson declared an emergency and began a quick descent into the Wichita airport, his copilot was flabbergasted. “What’s going on, Johnson?” he demanded.

“We have an unruly passenger and need to get this plane on the ground,” replied Johnson according to the copilot.

However, there was no unruly passenger. In fact, the flight was about as boring as you can have. Not a peep out of anyone aboard the early morning flight to Atlanta.

After landing, Johnson was beside himself. “My bad, guys. I just assumed we’d make our normal diversion.”

During the last 2 years of pandemic-era flying, Johnson seems to have built up muscle memory for diverting flights due to unruly passengers. With over 309 diversions (274 of which were related to MAGA freakouts), Johnson’s subconscious brain took over and he simply assumed it was happening again.

Passengers inconvenienced on the flight received 11 Delta SkyMiles and a credit card application as compensation for the delay.

Lee is the brains (but definitely not the looks) of The Takeoff Nap. When he's not complaining about upgrades he runs a few travel blogs, but this one is his favorite.

4 replies on “Pilot inadvertently diverts flight out of habit even though no passengers are freaking out”

  1. This makes absolutely no sense, at all. 309 diversions in 2 years? Sounds like Cpt Johnson needs a psych evaluation. That is, by any means, NOT normal. In the same time period at another airline, I had 2 unruly passenger incidents, neither of which required a diversion. “My bad?” Where was the First Officer during this decision making process?

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