Flier's Rage Over Blanket Fee Gets His Flight Diverted

An outraged passenger caused a plane to be diverted—all over a $12 blanket fee. The brouhaha began shortly after the Honolulu-bound Hawaiian Airlines flight left Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, KHON reports. The 66-year-old man complained of being cold, asked for a blanket, learned the price, and demanded to talk to the airline's corporate office. During the in-flight call he placed, he allegedly threatened to "take someone behind the woodshed," an LA Airport Police rep tells the Los Angeles Times.

Though officials say no "credible threat" was made, the flight crew's discomfort led them to alert the captain. "Our crew felt it was necessary to divert to Los Angeles and deplane the passenger before beginning to fly over the Pacific Ocean," says the airline in a statement. The man was not charged with any offense and boarded another flight. The $12 blanket fee provoked protests on Twitter, with one man tweeting he'll put Hawaiian Airlines "atop my 'no fly' list." The pricey blanket has drawn criticism in the past from cold customers like this one. (More Hawaiian Airlines stories.)