In a time of post-pandemic travel rebound and more and more passengers behaving badly, flight attendants have had to deal with all kinds of nonconventional situations aboard.
In July, two United Airlines (UAL) -) flight attendants struggled to subdue a passenger who flew into a rage after his first choice of first-class meal was not available while the attendants on a recent flight from Bangkok to Taiwan struggled to catch several otters and a marmoset that a passenger let loose inside the cabin.
Related: An American Airlines Captain's Rant on Plane Etiquette Is Going Viral
A report the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released in July 2023 also shone a light on an increase in drunken behavior and passengers who board the flight while intoxicated and then disregard the instruction of the air crew.
A flight attendant prevents a couple from boarding the plane pic.twitter.com/RG6lvxZ2pD
— Insane Reality Leaks (@InsaneRealitys) October 3, 2023
'You were flipping all over the ground...'
Such an incident recently transpired before a Southwest Airlines (LUV) -) flight took off to an undisclosed location. Video filmed by one of the passengers captures a flight attendant explaining that passengers' "drunken cartwheels" were "jeopardizing the safety of this aircraft."
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While the video does not capture the drunken cartwheels themselves, the flight attendant is seen blocking the entry to the plane and telling the travelers that they would not be permitted to board.
"You were flipping all over the ground, you're engaging, you're loud, you want attention from everybody," the flight attendant says to the unseen passenger. "The entire crew saw it [and] all of us are in agreement that you cannot board."
A member of the ground crew backs the flight attendant up and says that the they've been instructed to remove them from the flight while the passenger is heard saying that she "won a sobriety test" and "works with children."
The video was viewed nearly 14 million times on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. It was also upvoted more than 26,300 times with many viewers expressing dismay at not being able to view the cartwheels in question.
'I was watching you drink your alcohol...'
The three-minute video captures the passenger continuing to argue with the flight attendant and repeatedly asking "what behavior did you see?" as other passengers continue to board the flight. Another passenger is also heard arguing with the flight attendant and repeatedly asking "why" they were not allowed to board.
"I was watching you drink your alcohol," the flight attendant says. "I am not going to let you board this aircraft today." The video cuts off and it remains unclear whether the passenger agreed to leave the plane or had to be escorted out.
In general, the number of passengers behaving badly aboard planes has been on a steep increase in the last year. While far from every passenger who argues with a flight attendant or is otherwise difficult fits the official definition of "unruly," IATA data shows that behavior ranging from "suspicious or threatening" to "life-threatening" rose from one in every 835 U.S. flights in 2021 to one in every 568 flights by 2022.
Some of the most common bad behaviors include verbally abusing flight attendants, fighting with fellow passengers and disregarding anti-smoking and anti-vaping laws.
