New York – Video of brawling U.S. airline passengers emerged on Wednesday for the second day in a row, this time showing two men going at it on a Southwest Airlines flight that had just landed on Sunday in Burbank, California.
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The grainy 22-second scene of grown men flailing, tumbling and pummeling on an airplane lingered on social media for a couple of days before breaking out onto television newscasts and news organizations’ websites.
What sparked the melee was not immediately clear.
The video is the latest to show flying does not always take place in the friendliest skies.
Another passenger brawl had erupted on Monday at Florida’s Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida, where emotions boiled over after budget carrier Spirit Airlines canceled several flights because of a labor dispute with its pilots. Three people were arrested in that incident.
Video of the Southwest fracas was posted on Twitter by Nick Krause, a high-school student from Newbury Park, California, who said it was shot by his father.
The scene opens with a passenger wrestling another. Others pulled him back, enabling the second passenger to get up and punch his assailant repeatedly until fellow travelers intervened.
“What is wrong with you?” one woman is heard shouting. “Get off. Stop it.”
The incident occurred on Sunday morning as passengers were leaving Flight 2530 at Hollywood Burbank Airport after arriving from Dallas, Southwest Airlines said. One passenger was arrested, and another had minor injuries but remained on the plane as it continued to Oakland, it said.
Southwest said its employees were “everyday heroes” trained to de-escalate such situations.
The company’s shares were down less than 0.1 percent in midday trading.
A month ago, a video went viral of a passenger being dragged off a United Airlines flight in Chicago. He later reached a settlement with United.
Later, American Airlines Group Inc came under fire after video emerged showing an onboard clash over a baby stroller.
Last week, Delta Air Lines Inc apologized after a couple with two toddlers was kicked off an overbooked flight.
The video showed two Black males fighting; about two weeks ago, there was another video of two Black females fighting, as they exited the plane. The Captain had to use physical force on one of them to break up the fight. Now, she is suing the airline! Last week, there was another fight on a Japan Air Lines flight, where an American assaulted a JAL flight attendant. The Japanese cops hauled him off the plane. I once heard a flight attendant on tv state, that as a female passenger was getting off a flight, she turned to her and stated “You know something, you’re a bi—, and proceeded to punch her in the face. She punched her so hard, that she went flying across the seat. Alas, this is what flying has come down to. The airlines treat the passengers like cattle, and squeeze them into small spaces, which are cramped. On top of that, the “service” stinks. Also, alcohol, which is a large revenue producer for the airlines is served onboard. The liquor loosens inhibitions in people, and makes them aggressive. This, together with passengers kicking your seat, kids screaming, passengers making noise, smelling and dressing badly, all makes for an explosive mixture.
To #2 - What was wrong in reporting the above? When cops take a crime report, they always ask for the race of the perpetrators. Even the FBI keeps such statistics. Are you now saying that such statistics should be expunged? Please!