“Are you serious?” was one passenger’s response after learning that she and other passengers would have to disembark the plane because of another defiant passenger who refused to get off her phone. The flight was delayed for several hours as a result.
The video was originally posted by TikTok user @ashlynhowey and has more than 9 million views. The video shows highlights of the encounter, which begins with authorities appearing to get the woman to cooperate.
But she just sits there!
“Sorry folks, we’re going to have to deboard you,” one officer tells the passengers.
That’s when chaos unfolds.
“We don’t have time for this,” one passenger yells.
“Lady, get off the plane,” another passenger yells, adding that they had already been on the plane for an hour.
Once everyone was off the plane and back in the airport, the passenger who caused everyone a headache was escorted off the plane and passengers began to yell at her.
“Motherf****r, really?” One guy shouts to the passenger during her walk of shame, as she’s booed by others.
Although it appears to be a Las Vegas-bound flight, possibly out of a Chicago airport, not much as is known about the incident.
Her behavior comes at a time when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is reporting that incidents of unruly passengers are on the rise as more people return to what we thought were the friendly skies.
Independence Day Weekend 2021 marked one of the worst weeks, as the FAA reported an increase of 150 unruly passenger cases.
ABC News reports more than 3,400 reports of unruly behavior from passengers since the beginning of the year. 75% of those incidents involved passengers who refused to wear face coverings.
The FAA has a zero-tolerance policy for in-flight disruptions. Passengers could face a fine of $52,500 and up to 20 years in prison. The FAA is investigating more than 550 potential violations in 2021— the highest number since 1995.
