Stranded in Belfast, United passengers arrive at O'Hare after 21-hour ordeal

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A United Airlines flight which left from Rome finally arrived at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after a 21-hour delay in Ireland, where the passengers forced to sleep on the floor at the Belfast airport.

United Flight 971 originally took off from Rome on Saturday headed for Chicago, but after a passenger became unruly on board, the plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Belfast, Ireland. The flight crew had to be replaced due to federal regulations.

"I think he was being aggressive towards other passengers, and towards the flight attendants," said passenger Debbie Boyce.

After the passenger was taken off board and the plane was refueled, the flight crew had reached their maximum hours of flight time, a rule strictly enforced by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Passengers had to wait for a new crew to arrive, which meant sleeping on the floor at the airport.

The Roegner kids waited patiently Sunday night to welcome home their parents, who are on the flight. They couldn't wait to see their dad on father's day.

"Everyone else gets to see their father and mom, but today I don't get to, so I don't think it's fair," said 10-year-old Alex Roegner.

United did refund the passenger's plane tickets for the ordeal.

"Everyone at United was really generous with at least telling us what was going on and they were really concerned with safety, so I thought that was important," said Boyce.

"I've got nothing against United, they did they're best. It's just kind of a bad situation to be in," said fellow passenger Tucker Eenigenburg.

The delay came just one week after a flight from Chicago to London was diverted to Goose Bay, Canada. Passengers there spent would spent almost an entire day in the military barracks while they waited for a new plane.