An American Airlines passenger flying from Dallas Fort Worth to Los Angeles took another passenger’s bulkhead seat and refused to give it up. He argued that it was his by right as a result of his U.S. citizenship. Defying flight attendants requests to move, all passengers were eventually deplaned in order to get him off the aircraft peacefully.
The man had been assigned to a seat further back in the aircraft. The man actually with that seat on his boarding pass, in a checkered shirt in video of the incident, naturally expected to sit there. The interloper became agitated and loudly asserted, “I’m a citizen of the United States,” as justification for his actions.
Flight attendants attempted to manage the situation by informing him that his behavior was inappropriate and that he would be removed from the flight if he did not comply. Undeterred, he challenged them to call the police, saying, “Ok. Get the police here. Take me to jail.”
Police arrived and, to avoid a physical confrontation, removed the man from the plane in a wheelchair. He was not arrested on the spot. The flight was delayed by 45 minutes, and all passengers had to deplane.
Man Steals Better Seat, RAGES REFUSES To Leave JFK Airport Fasten Your Seatbelt
byu/CascadingPhailure inAirRage
For avoidance of doubt, there is no right of citizenship to stake a claim to unoccupied seats on the aircraft – let alone to a seat assigned to someone else. And under this theory, what would happen if the passenger assigned to the bulkhead was also a U.S. citizen? Whose citizenship would trump?
(HT: Live and Let’s Fly)
Aren’t people pigs? Yet I think a piglet would conduct itself with more common sense & decency. I hate people.
Oy!!! I can’t believe that you tried to explain why the nut job wasn’t entitled to the bulkhead seat. How dumb do you think your readers are?
Entitled MAGA nut job, it will only get worse.
Americans continue proving the USA is a 3rd world country.
Possession is increasingly 9/10ths of the law (as we even see in the highest office). Traditional laws or societal norms are not so important anymore. For many people what matters is belief, and your own personal reality.
Of course it will all end badly, but the nutters will probably bring us all down with them. We will end up back in the dark ages where fear and superstition trump science and facts
This poor guy is clearly suffering some sort of mental illness, which is probably why they chose not to arrest him. I hope he gets help.
Oh come on, David, I thought it was funny! Texas/US is increasingly filled with Wing-Nuts claiming to be “sovereign citizens”, exempting them from the authority of fraudulent government institutions. Anything written in all caps is invalid, including Boarding Passes; and they only write with red ink. As our Guv always says, “Blessed be the name of Texas!”
AA flies 319s with IFE between LAX and DFW? (my key takeaway)
The guy is a perfect candidate for the DNC nomination keeping with long standing tradition.
The cost to Society by not providing affordable mental healthcare to all.
@Dennis J Holland: Yes, that guy was a nut job, but there is absolutely no reason to believe he was a member of either political party. Try not to let your temper get the best of you.
Making america great again……
“Get a job in aviation,” they said. “It’ll be glamorous,” they said.
People say they don’t like Southwest’s open seating and yet!! This guy booked the wrong airlines.
One more reason not to fly, as if we needed another….
THREE! I made a bet with myself on how many comments would I have to read before someone went Orange Man Bad. I was spot on. Woo hoo!
Just more delusional American exceptionalism and entitlement. I hope he and anyone else acting like a thug gets banned for life.
Why all the political bs? He’s hardly MAGA. And why go THERE? Feeling like a loss is imminent I guess.j
He might not have been arrested, but he didn’t fly in AA that day, or any other day.
DJ Holland, your comment fuels the separation currently today in ourcountryw. Please grow up stop the hate.
Obviously this passenger did not bother to read through the small print of the airline’s supposed contract that they have with buying tickets with them. More than likely the guy just skimmed through it and decided that he’s gonna run by His rules while he’s on the plane
@ Dennis J Holland. Mr. Holland, I’m curious how you determined the man was a “MAGA nut job” instead of a run of the mill nut job. Perhaps it was his accent or it’s just politics 24/7 with you?
The furious guy — whether a US citizen or not — is likely an immigrant or was raised outside of the US as a kid. Doesn’t preclude the guy from being a MAGA character, as there are even plenty of immigrants who are MAGA types too.
I am curious if the guy was coming in from or had a connecting flight and looked at the wrong flight’s seat number but remained adamant it was his seat. Either way, the guy seemed way too angry for the circumstances and needed a time out.
After all this week’s “steal the vote” type talk in Milwaukee blaming immigrants for “stealing” elections in the US, maybe some of the closeted MAGA supporters and out MAGA supporters can now get on board “stop the steal” campaign when it comes to travel: “the immigrants are not only taking our/your jobs, they are also even stealing our/your seats and increasing the cost of your hotel stays”.
I am puzzled why he did not take first class : The rules are pretty clear : US citizens pick seats first ( does not matter what you booked); if there are more citizens , born in the US trumps naturalization, then by age and if we have same age group fight with the plastic forks still all are seated …. Hopefully it does not get worse in a society , maybe with no norms, ethic and care all fight for themselves …. Great
@Derek Mcgillicuddy…th at exactly how the govt wants us to be
Because irrelevant political commentary was made here, I’ll chime in with satire. Like Biden, he cheated his way into his position and now proven to not deserve it, he refuses to give up his position, and his fellow travelers have to leave him before the authorities haul him off in a wheelchair.
You raise an interesting question but what are the chances that another passenger on American airlines also American?
The “citiizen” should have been arrested and removed by police and refused boarding. No fly list for 12 months or longer. These idiots are a danger to the aircraft.