American Airlines Passenger Attacks Gate Agent In Miami

by Gary Leff

Conflict in airports and in planes is way down since the federal transportation mask mandate was lifted, but it’s still elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels. We aren’t seeing epic meltdowns – and physical danger for employees and fellow passengers – at the same rate as last year. But it’s far from gone. And nowhere does it seem quite as likely as inside the American Airlines terminal in Miami.

Prior to a flight to Punta Cana, an irate woman goes behind the desk and lifts up a computer screen – and throws it at the agent working the flight. She appears to be screaming that someone should find her children. It seems she was traveling with kids and lost track of them.

Here’s another angle.

@mark_d4life Destroyed Agents desk. #meltdowns ♬ original sound – mark_d4life

It turns out she did more than just throw the monitor, she took out the printer and more at the desk as well.

Finally here’s an additional angle – and her eventual arrest.

Fortunately the gate agent appears to be alright. The employee is wearing festive reindeer antlers for the holidays – not what you’d expect from someone looking to antagonize a passenger. Traveling can be stressful, and clearly something went very wrong. But if your reaction to that is going to be assault and destruction of property maybe consider the Spirit Airlines Fort Lauderdale – Punta Cana flight instead?

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. This woman lost track of her own kids and assaulted another person I hope there is video of her being hauled to jail

  3. No Gravelly, This is just wrong. The agents and flight crews regardless of what you think of who they work for don’t deserve to be attached on the job and especially at this time of year.

    ENOUGH OF THIS. I hope this woman is banned from ALL flying.

    AA, DL, NWA and TWA crews and staff have been great to me and my family over the years, no matter what the situation is, this behavior needs to stop in the country. That’s my Xmas wish!

  4. I put up with his nonsense for the last 10 years of my 43 year long career at TWA and American Airlines. An extremely strong message needs to be sent to the public: if you want to show your ass, and kick up, then you’re not going to be able to fly. It ought to be as simple as that, no negotiating here. I hope that this woman gets at least two years in prison for destruction of company, property, and assault. Just another example of how people are ignorant.

  5. Given the behavior of the woman in the videos and how she may have lost her child/children at the airport, someone should be evaluating her competence as a parent and her legal custody of the children.

    People seeking help from others would serve their own interests better by not going crazy mad. And yet there are people like the monitor-throwing barbarian in the video.

  6. AA has the only nonstop flight between MIA and Punta Cana. It is the least expensive flight among all carriers. Spirit has a connecting flight with an overnight layover in PHL. Spirit’s flight is slightly more expensive. All other carriers also have connecting flights and are more expensive. Any consumer would pick AA. This particular consumer did.

    After all of the reports of such incidents, it is fair to say Florida is not surprising. But, it is also fair to say that the AA comment is unfounded and a cheap shot. And, while we hear about the incidents in the US, we tend not to hear about the incidents in other countries. But, they do happen and they continue to happen. This is not a “disease” exclusive to US persons.

    Let’s hope for the best for her kids, to whom Christmas will be forever associated with losing their mom (such as she is).

  8. No harm; no foul. Yes, she should be arrested and some form of punishment delivered but I agree that humans becoming angered to the point of physical outburst is no way new or the byproduct of a particular national culture. The only aspects that are new(ish) are camera phones, bloggers in search of clickbait and a willing self-righteous peanut gallery that seems to search for daily opportunities to be outraged by the unwise “other” people. People in Florida are happier (generally) than anywhere else I’ve lived. More people keep coming and my property values keep going up. Hate all you want. I’m going to the beach tomorrow.

  10. I’m in the airline business. I’m all for a national “do not fly” list. Depending on the infraction, a temporary ban or lifetime ban on flying ANY US carrier should be enforced at the federal level. The US can’t control non-US flag carrier’s policies. However, since the crime is perpetrated in a US airport, local criminal charges should be mandatory. If a US flag carrier is involved, federal charges should be mandatory. Put the hammer down on these jerks and I’m sure that these assaults will slow down. Unless the carrier is transporting an “unaccompanied minor”, it’s not the airport or the airline’s responsibility to watch anyone’s kids. I tell my pilots that flying used to be civilized but now, you are nothing but a glorified bus driver as anyone can get on your “bus”.

  11. @sunviking, where in my post did I say or did I mention to the point of inference that it was ok to attack someone? Anyone?? Where?? Please don’t put words in my mouth or should I say in my post because then I’m going to react to it, and react accordingly. This pattern is nothing new both for this company and that city, nothing new to see at all. How many times Sunviking, how many, have we seen the exact same pattern of events over and over and over again?? It starts with the gate agent/FA vs the client and then it just escalates and escalates from there to the point of no return, until everyone just goes to blows?? Time and time again, over and over, for different reasons and motivations we always have the same end result. Both AA and Mia. What do we do then?? Ban the clients? Ban everyone else? Is that the real solution…because guess what, it’s going to happen all over again and again and again , and here we’ll be yelling “ban them all!!!” And guess what, they don’t get banned and it keeps happening. So, who’s constantly dropping the ball here?? The company, the client? Both? In short, says the old adage, if you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting. Plain and simple.

  12. “It turns out, McMillie’s two children, ages six and eight, had gone to the restroom without telling her, according to the arrest report.”

  13. From where do people learn this is acceptable behavior? Bad parents? TV? Social media (and lack of personal contact)?

  15. As a former gate agent for AA, these videos made me sick to watch. I feel so terribly for the poor antler-wearing agent who was trying to balance doing her job and staying out of the way. I haven’t been in this exact scenario, but I experienced similar passenger meltdowns.

    What we’re looking at here is mental illness. This cannot possibly be someone who woke up in the morning, got dressed, packed a bag to go to PUJ, and decided she was going to trash a gate at MIA. We can joke about animus toward the airline industry, but I don’t believe that this kind of violence in airports is premeditated. Police will be the next step in this equation, but they’re not going to solve this problem. Putting the woman on a non-existent national “no-fly” list or doxing her on Twitter won’t chagrin her into behaving better in the future. This woman needs professional help much more than she needs to spend time in a jail cell.

    The biggest surprise in these videos was how easily she was able to topple the ticket reader podium. Those things always looked very sturdily constructed, but she just proved otherwise.

  17. She lost track of her own kids, (who weer in a restroom), then goes on a rampage, destroying airline equipment, throwing said equipment at employees, frightening everyone there, while screaming filth. See for yourself, with your own eyes. If justice prevails, she will spend jail time and will be made to pay for all damages. The employees that she injured should file complaints.

  18. An attack against any person employed at an airport should be a felony just like attacking a postal worker

  22. Back in the good old days of the ’80s flying was a luxury, now it’s a Greyhound bus. More and more of these days people feel entitled to take their anguish out on anybody standing in their way! The airlines gate agents are not daycare agents, nor are they stepchildren. I’m sure that woman is able body person that is manageable to raise her kids, but obviously she’s an entitlist who thinks she is above everybody else, and unfortunately there are many people out there just like her. She is probably brainwashed into watching so many tick tock and daily Mail videos so she would try this attitude herself, obviously that backfired, and now she’s going to have to deal with with child protective services as well, not for just having her kids run off but because she had a nuclear meltdown at the ticket counter. Granted, if anybody lost their children they probably would be very distraught, but she could have simply asked the gate agent to call the police for assistance. There was no reason for her to start ripping out and destroying the airlines property. Sad!

  23. My first thought on reading/watching this was “Well, it’s Miami”. Where the World’s detritus seem to enter and exit the USA. But I suppose it would be easy to stereotype and fall into attacking the person not the behavior. This is disgraceful conduct. Apart with criminal charges I agree with those who propose a total flight ban for this person.
    OK, there’s my good behavior for the day, so now, virtue signalling ..
    I have to say, having watched this video, that there are some women (people I suppose I should say, in today’s “pick your pronoun” World) who absolutely should not, under any circumstances whatsoever, be allowed out in public in leggings. Never. Really.
    Indeed, I am reminded of the late, great English comedian Les Dawson who once described such a vision as this as “Like two small boys fighting under a blanket”.
    Which was outrageously funny. But….. this lady, and I use the term loosely, isn’t funny at all. Destroying property and intimidating people because you mislaid your own Hell-spawned brats just doesn’t work for anyone.

  24. We plain gotta get a national no-fly list for people who act this way or try to bring guns on flights.

  25. Hate to say it, but AA went dumpster-diving for low cost type of passengers – this is to be expected.

    Really sad how these people don’t respect anyone. Airline employees have very stressful jobs and don’t deserve this.

  26. (Not excusing bad behaviour, but)…can anyone provide evidence to eliminate the possibility that she was at the airport to meet her (unaccompanied) children off a flight and for some reason they didn’t make it as expected, therefore she is blaming the airline / its employees for her children being missing (admittedly rather hysterically)???

  27. @platy – that’s not what happened, her kids went off to the restroom without her realizing it and she lost track of them. Not officially confirmed, but I’m also told she was a nonrev.

  28. “miamiorbust” think I’ll take bust
    Having worked in the travel industry for more than 50 years, I definitely agree with national NoFly list, as well as the banning of disruptive cruise ship passengers. Thankfully the cruise lines do a great job of banning stupid/unruly losers

  29. If there were ever a place that could drive someone to violence, it’s AA’s hub in Miami. Maybe AA should look at improving customer service training and standards, and management should have higher expectations for their agents. I flew out of MIA on AA this morning. I was a breathe away from cancelling my trip and going home to chilly Chicago (on UA). The agents are surly, and spend more time admonishing their passengers rather than helping them. The on-board experience is no better.

  31. @ Gary

    Thanks, mate, for the info

    (just now wondering whether she had approached staff initially for help finding the kids and they were too busy or disinterested -also a parent could imagine the worst and the kids had been snatched wherein every second in tracing them is vital).

    Shame Bryan Mills wasn’t there to help.

    […PS hoping the racist stuff above will get redacted….;) ]

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