Tennis Star Jessica Pegula Calls Out United on X: Canceled Flight Took Off With Passengers' Bags
On the night of November 2, American tennis star Jessica Pegula posted on X calling out United Airlines: the flight she was on was first announced as canceled and passengers were sent to baggage claim, then the flight was reinstated and took off, leaving the passengers on the ground while carrying their checked bags away. By the morning of November 3 the post had been viewed more than 80,000 times, and United apologized publicly under the post and asked her to send her confirmation number by direct message for assistance.
Pegula wrote in the original post: "@united explain to me how you cancelled our flight, you tell us to go to baggage claim and then uncancel the flight and take off with our bags. We also sat on the plane for 2+ hours in a torrential downpour when everyone else went back to the gate. Then baggage services had 0 clue what was happening and kept saying they would pull our bags. Meanwhile the flight took off. Craziest thing I've ever seen."
United replied: "We understand that travel doesn't always go as planned, and we're sorry for the frustration, Jessie. Please DM us your confirmation number so we can assist." As of publication, neither Pegula nor United had disclosed the flight number or departure airport, and there was no public word on whether she had recovered her bags.
Pegula, 32, is ranked No. 4 in the world. Her next event is the WTA Finals, scheduled for November 8 to 15 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California, and the mishap happened while she was traveling to compete. According to Simple Flying, checked bags on U.S. domestic flights may be carried without their owner on board once they have passed screening, unlike the passenger-bag matching rule on international flights, which is the regulatory background that allowed the flight to depart with the bags after passengers had been sent to baggage claim.
Source: Jessica Pegula on X
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Jessica Pegula本人资料图（2025年摄，Hameltion摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons）
