Wild video shows a passenger with an oversized hiking backpack leans over the counter at Orlando airport’s gate 125, arguing with a Southwest Airlines agent. She gestures wildly toward the jet bridge door but she’s blocked from boarding.
She storms into the concourse, still shouting toward staff. You can see the Southwest “A 1–15” stanchion, purple Priority placard, and a line of Southwest-branded wheelchairs and Southwest agents in blue shirts. The woman circles back toward the gate desk to continue her dispute.
Rage against the machine ♂️ | #ONLYinDADE pic.twitter.com/SUn6a0jyhQ
— ONLY in DADE (@ONLYinDADE) August 19, 2025
Southwest uses Airside 2 (gates 100-129) at the Orlando airport and this appears to be gate 125. I initially misread the blurry video of the gate sign as J25, and went down a rabbit hole over whether this might actually be Miami based on the carpeting, and that Southwest operates from G/H there (and there’s no J25 at MIA).
The dispute seems likely to be about the size of the woman’s carry-on bag, although it’s possible she was late to the flight. Although given her behavior the boarding refusal could have been behavioral!
Well, at least it wasn’t a Florida ‘man’ this time…
(Before anyone gets upset, I’ve lived in the state, and recognize bad behavior exists everywhere, not just Florida. It’s about bad actors, individuals, not groups, regardless of residency.)
LET ME ON LET ME ON LET ME ON (followed by violent actions/gestures) is as effective as yelling I AM NOT UNDER ARREST I AM NOT UNDER ARREST while a cop is putting the cuffs on.
Def MCO.
I doubt it’s about the backpack. It looks huge mainly because it’s attached to an extremely short person.
I am so very tired of these ginormous backpacks that are stuffed with enough gear to climb Mt Fuji that are being hoisted in to the overhead bins like a size nine foot in a size seven shoe.. Even the children are seen trying to drag these things on. Don’t be so cheap. Just Check a bag. A simple solution is to check the size at the gate (they rarely do) and make them pay dearly. That would change the culture.
@MIkey01 — If it is fits, it’s fine; if not, yes, gate-check. Recent flight, someone purchased an extra economy seat for their cello; if they’re willing to pay for that ‘special treatment,’ I don’t see a problem. The issue here is less about the backpack or carry-on, and more about the bad behavior.
*If it fits… (sheesh)
@1990: Flight Attendant here. “If it fits” is not a solution. Carry-on bags should be limited to the typical rollerboard bag dimensions, and this woman’s bag appears to be well over that size. The overhead bins – approximately the length of two rows of seats – are each shared by up to 6 people (even the new, larger overhead bins that take rollerboards on their side fit 6).
When a passenger brings a bag like that one instead, which likely will be loaded “front to back” in the bin, they are taking up the storage space that 3-4 other passengers need. Others later in the boarding process will have to check theirs, because passengers like this think they are entitled to cram oversized bags into a bin for their exclusive use.
As these bigger bins become more common, if everyone complied with the size restrictions – “one carry-on, one small item” (one in the overhead, one under the seat in front of you) there’s a spot for everybody’s bags.
Again toddler like behavior in adults. If I scream enough “mommy” will give me my bottle. Cuff, arrest, take to jail, put on a Do Not Fly List, spend a few days in the pokey. The toddler like behavior will end.