‘It Broke My Heart’: Pilot Apologizes For Leaving 3 Passengers Behind In NJ

NEWARK, NJ — An airline pilot is getting kudos for giving a heartfelt apology after being forced to leave three late arrivals behind in New Jersey.

Luis Perez, a captain with United Airlines, said that it “broke his heart” to leave the passengers behind – but it was for a good reason.

The Boeing 787 pilot wrote about the Oct. 12 flight from Newark to Lisbon, Portugal in a LinkedIn post, which has since been widely shared online.

“Our team had delayed the departure by six minutes to wait for late connecting passengers,” Perez recounted. “Once everyone had boarded, the gate agent closed the flight, pulled the jetway, and we completed our final checklists in preparation for pushback.”

Here’s what happened next, he said:

“Just as we were ready to go, the tug driver asked if we could take two additional bags that had just arrived from the late connection. We agreed, and the ramp crew quickly loaded them into the aft cargo compartment. While that was happening, we noticed three people waving from the windows in the boarding area. At first, we thought they were pointing at the jetway — but we soon realized they were trying to get our attention, hoping to still make the flight.”

“It broke my heart to see them there, pleading to come aboard,” the pilot said. “Unfortunately, at that point, the flight was officially closed. The jetway had been disconnected, the gate agent had left, and the weight and balance had already been completed.”

Reconnecting everything would have required reversing multiple safety and operational steps – causing a long delay for other passengers making onward connections, he added.

Still, the sight of those passengers stayed with him.

“It was a powerful reminder that behind every procedure and checklist, there are real people with hopes, plans and stories,” Perez wrote.

“To those travelers: if you ever read this, please know that we saw you, we felt for you, and we truly wished we could have brought you with us,” he concluded.

Perez’s Linked In post sparked a wave of comments from people praising his response to the situation. As seen online:

• “Thanks for verbalizing what many of us have felt in similar situations. Every seat has a story.”
• “I have been in the terminal when people have been left behind (sometimes their fault, sometimes flight delays) I wish more people understood the reason it's not plausible because that certainly helps.”
• “Best. Post. Ever. Every client (or passenger) matters and everyone has a story. We can’t serve everyone every time, but taking a moment to explain why – even after the fact – is leadership at its best.”

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