“People want transparency and accountability so we’re going do this right here in public," he tweeted at the airline
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NEED TO KNOW
- Former USMNT star Landon Donovan called out United Airlines for an alleged flight disruption
- He and English announcer Ian Darke attended the World Cup, where they called a game, and then both shared claims of bad customer service regarding the airline
- “So ridiculous,” Donovan said of United Airlines
Landon Donovan is not happy with United Airlines.
In several tweets shared to X on Monday, June 15, the 44-year-old former professional soccer player called out the company for allegedly delaying a flight and not resolving the issue in a satisfactory manner.
His grievances began after he retweeted commentator Ian Darke’s complaints about the same airline.
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“Every passenger on @united 404 from Houston to Newark will think twice about using that airline again. Delayed , diverted , reboarded, then pilot says shift ‘ timed out’ as about to take off from Dulles. Still there 5 hours later. No hotel offer,” the 72-year-old English announcer wrote.
“I’ve been traveling 100k miles/year since I was 16 and this was easily the worst travel experience of my life. No transparency, no clarity and no respect for the passengers who were treated horribly all evening/morning. Absolutely shameful from @united,” Donovan replied.
PEOPLE reached out to United for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
The former USMNT star also retweeted businessman Jason Stverak, sharing his alleged experience with a canceled flight “So ridiculous.”
One X user pointed out that the pilots are following “rules” when their shifts time out due to flight time limitations and rest requirements set by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The former athlete responded that he was still frustrated with the pilot, writing, “We were on the runway about to takeoff and the pilot was literally ONE minute past his time and decided to take us back to the gate at 3am.”
Donovan’s tweets eventually garnered a response from United’s social media team, which apologized and asked the athlete to DM his flight confirmation number.
“There will be no private DMs. People want transparency and accountability so we’re going do this right here in public. You can start by apologizing to all impacted and then reimburse them all of their expenses with extra flight credit/money for the trouble caused,” he replied.
Credit: Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty
A rep for Donovan could not immediately be reached.
His tweets slamming the airline came after he’d just praised USMNT for “the most enjoyable day of soccer I’ve ever experienced” after their win against Paraguay 4-1 on Friday, June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, their first match of the 2026 World Cup.
“So grateful to have been there and can’t wait for next Friday 🇺🇸❤️⚽️🇺🇸❤️⚽️🇺🇸❤️⚽️,” he wrote, referring to their next World Cup match against Australia on Friday, June 19.
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Donovan recently spoke exclusively to PEOPLE about how he looked forward to calling the FIFA World Cup this summer.
"It's really exhilarating to be in the booth," he told PEOPLE in May. "If I'm being honest, a part of me is jealous that I won't get to just watch the games."
"When you get to watch people proud to watch their country compete, it's really special," he added.
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