Nov. 21--A Boston-bound United Airlines flight carrying New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ended up returning to the gate at San Francisco International Airport on Friday after a passenger took pictures of the crew, officials said.
Despite initial social media chatter that the passenger had threatened the aspiring Republican presidential candidate, his camp said in a statement that Christie was not involved.
"At no point did Governor Christie interact with this passenger nor did this passenger pose a verbal or physical threat to the governor," read the statement, posted on Twitter on Friday afternoon.
In fact, the passenger had been taking pictures of female flight crew members, which "created a level of discomfort," said airport spokesman Doug Yakel. He said the conduct led someone to complain and finally a call was made from the aircraft to return to the gate.
"Worth asking is what did 1 person do that resulted in a complete shakedown of the plane passengers, a 5 hour delay. It had to be serious," tweeted David Berlind, who said he was a passenger on the flight.
The flight returned to the gate about 10:15 a.m. and everyone was removed from the plane, Yakel said. It took off in the afternoon with all but that one passenger aboard, officials said.
It was not immediately clear what happened to the passenger who was taking the photos.
joseph.serna@latimes.com
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.
ALSO
Kamala Harris cleared in state ethics inquiry
Sanders mural in downtown Los Angeles vandalized
How California's congressional delegation voted on the bill to block Syrian refugees
