Two passengers on an American Airlines flight were kicked off after one reportedly tried to sneak into first class and hide under the other passenger’s seat.
FlyerTalk reported that the flight on October 30 was from Dallas to Miami was delayed prompting a woman in coach to go to first class to talk with her friend.
According to a witness, the woman from coach then tried to hide under the footwell of her friend’s seat where personal bags would typically go.
“Apparently the plan was for this woman’s friend to remain there the entire flight as it’s something they thought would drive viewers to their ‘YouTube Channel,’” the witness said.
Flight attendants noticed the empty seat in coach and other passengers told them the woman was in first class. The crew made an announcement asking the woman to return to the seat. She eventually came from her hiding spot, while the other passengers were annoyed she caused another delay.
Then, the captain said the incident was a security issue and brought the plane back to the gate so that both the woman and her friend could be removed from the flight.
The witness said the woman became enraged after she found out she was being kicked off and removed her mask while “screaming that she’s being disrespected, did nothing wrong, she paid good money for her ticket, and that she has a child waiting at home for her.”
“Police show[ed] up to drag her off,” the witness said. “In the meantime another [passenger] in [coach] starts to cuss out a [flight attendant] because of the delay and the police drag him off.”
A spokesperson for American Airlines confirmed the incident.
“Before departing on Oct. 30, American Airlines flight 2205 from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Miami International Airport (MIA) returned to the gate at DFW for an issue involving two passengers. The two passengers, traveling together, would not comply with seat assignments during taxi out,” the spokesperson said. “Law enforcement met the aircraft at the gate, the two passengers exited the aircraft and the flight departed shortly after.”
Neither of the passengers have been identified.
