A confrontation took place between an American Airlines passenger and gate agent in Miami, with the passenger walking down the jetbridge without being given permission to board and – it seems – the employee grabbing at the woman’s phone (she was filming the interaction) and grabbing her.
- It appears that the flight was close to being closed out. The agent reveals that there are several passengers in the gate area waiting on standby. The woman apparently wasn’t allowed to board at that point.
- I’m not sure if she was late to the gate and being offloaded in favor of another passenger, or she was on standby herself. But it was only during the conflict itself that the agent declares to her, “you’re off the flight!”
- At the start of the video, he can be heard demanding “Stop recording me right now!” She walks past the door to the jetbridge and he yells “Get out of the Jetbridge right now! Get out! … Step back. [He grabs at her phone] Delete that picture right now!”
- She responds, “Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! Don’t put your [expletive] hands on me!”
The passenger demands that the gate agent get a manager or the police. She asks a friend to call the police, heads down the jetbridge, and the agent demands she stop. The confrontation continues. “You’re not getting on my plane!”
Another employee says she “did call somebody” and the passenger says “y’all was sitting there looking at people looking stupid.” The agent concedes she’s “not disagreeing” that her colleague shouldn’t have laid hands on her. “Y’all think that’s funny, you’re all laughing at me for enforcing the rule?” And she asks, “so we can’t laugh?”
@AmericanAir what’s this guy problem? @ hazel.gem#grindfacetv pic.twitter.com/XYuRsxJlxO
— GrindFace TV (Entertainment) (@grindfacetv) September 18, 2024
According to American Airlines,
We are investigating a recent event at Miami International Airport (MIA) and are in the process of learning more from the team member and customers involved.
Though the way in which the passenger is acting improperly isn’t fully clear, it is obvious she’s not supposed to be boarding the aircraft. She shouldn’t head down the jetbridge.
However there’s almost nowhere else on the planet with more law enforcement per capita than a major international airport. It does seem this should be handled by law enforcement. Ultimately, it’s tough to separate the security concern from the concern he has over being videotaped! They’re probably both wrong here.
The agent should be permanently banned from any employment that has contact with children, customers, or other employees. That is not too draconian. With those measures, there will not be these incidents.
She was told to stop and not board the plane. She didn’t stop and made it clear she was going to get on the plane. How do you stop her if not touching her?
No sympathy for the woman.
Agreed. Violated policy. Screw her. Arrogant passenger. She should have been arrested and jailed.
This is on the passenger. She was asked to stop and not board the aircraft but she chose to ignore those instructions.
Let her go…
Let the cabin crew deal with her. No boarding pass. No seat.
The gate agent should have immediately called the police and informed the Captain. The police would have come on and told the woman either exit the plane immediately or be arrested. Miami Dade police aren’t a group you want to play games with. The passenger could either immediately deplane or go to jail. No reason for the gate agent to go nuts.
Agree with @Thing1 and @Adam T – she is an entitled person that broke the law basically by trespassing trying to board a plane that she wasn’t allowed to be on. Could even be hit with terrorism charges in the extreme. Any action required to stop her was warranted.
@derek – I think AA should reward the gate agent for his actions. We have become too soft. There are times physical restraint (or even violence) is warranted and if she wasn’t going to respond to his request to get out of the jetway he had every right to remove her physically.
The agent should be commended – for escorting her at a protected secure area (jet bridge) – Give the employee a raise and a day off with pay!
According to Florida law, you cannot film anyone without their consent, this includes customer service interactions. Anyone who goes down a jetway without permission is in the wrong and should be ejected from the area. Period.
Agree with @George N Romey completely. The GA is NOT allowed to touch the Pax – that constitutes simple battery. The GA is NOT allowed to take the Pax’s phone – that constitutes robbery.
Doesn’t matter what the Pax was photographing. Don’t care if the Pax was behaving inappropriately – which she was. The GA is not a LEO and has no authority to grab anyone or anything.
The Captain and police should have been notified. They get to handle the matter.
Legally, any time someone has unwanted physical contact with you, e.g., touching your wrist, it’s Assault. Police may not file it, Prosecutors probably won’t accept it, but it’s grounds for a Civil Suit. I’m sure that’s taught in AA’s School .. the GA obviously lost his temper, did real foolish things.
Human trash she is
unfortunately way to much of it these days
Can I axe her a question?
what is the poh-leece
The GA should be sacked.
The pax should not have been physically stopped, but rather have the police give her the Dr. Dao treatment.
@АС
This does not qualify for terrorism charges as specified in FS 775.30.
The state crime that the passenger may have committed here is trespass as specified in FS 810.08. (FS 776.031 allows nondeadly force to be used to stop a trespasser.)
As for federal charges…
18 USC 2199 (stowaway) wouldn’t apply as the passenger was not on the plane when it departed.
49 USC 46314 (trespass) may or may not apply, but it’s mainly focused on circumventing security.
GA should have immediately called the police and not handled it himself. If she’d been injured, not only would AA face a civil suit, but he also would have been sued as an individual. I doubt he has personal insurance for such an incident, and he could have been ruined financially for life.