A United Airlines passenger's mom went viral complaining about their travel chaos. Now he's using his platform to demand more accountability.

05.09.2023 - 15:01 / insider.com / United Airlines / Airlines

Jack Ieronimo was one of the people on a United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Rome, Italy, that made headlines after passengers said they were stuck onboard for seven hours without taking off. 

Two weeks after the ordeal, Ieronimo returned home from his family trip to find that his mother, Christine, was filmed in a TikTok video from the day of the canceled flight, which was going viral. 

In the clip, Christine could be seen at the head of a crowd of upset passengers, voicing her concerns about the way the airline handled the situation. She said in the video that elderly people, babies, and pregnant women were among those onboard and that passengers were "treated like animals."

Insider previously reported that passengers onboard the flight from Newark said they were stuck without food or water as temperatures soared to 80 degrees Fahrenheit due to a problem with the air conditioning. In a statement to Insider, United Airlines said passengers were offered the opportunity to get off the plane and were later offered snacks and beverages. 

Ieronimo, 26, who had a small cameo in the TikTok where he could be seen standing in the crowd, told Insider he thinks the video of his mother played a "key part" in the incident receiving public attention, saying that if it weren't for the clip, the situation "would have been swept under the rug." The US Department of Transportation said in a statement to CBS7 that it would investigate the matter.

Ieronimo has since spoken out by making his own video on TikTok, further explaining his family's experience as a way of trying to hold the airline to account. 

Ieronimo, who is based in Rhode Island, told Insider that when he came across the TikTok of his mother, he noticed that many people were responding to it with positivity. 

Many commenters under the clip, which was posted on July 17 by fellow passenger Bianca Dragone, applauded Christine for the way she spoke up on behalf of others and said they were shocked to hear her explain the details of what happened. 

"It was cool because her feelings were validated," Ieronimo told Insider.

On August 22, Ieronimo posted his own TikTok video, acknowledging how viral Dragone's TikTok had gotten and adding more information about the experience, reiterating that he also hadn't seen any food or water being offered by cabin crew and accusing United Airlines of trying to downplay the incident.

A spokesperson for United Airlines declined to comment further in response to Ieronimo's video. 

The TikTok went on to become even more viral than the original video of Ieronimo's mom, receiving 19.2 million views, helping him bring the incident to wider attention.

"I just wanted to be the person that could try and hold United