A passenger was removed from a US airline’s flight after she hit a flight attendant in the face.
Footage of the incident that took place on a flight from Miami to Atlanta on October 20 shows the woman facing off the female member of cabin crew. She appears to be punching her in the face.
“You shouldn’t have touched me. You pushed me,” the woman is heard saying repeatedly.
The altercation occurred after the passenger refused to wear her mask correctly.
A journalist, Katty Kay who happened to be on the flight, tweeted that the plane was forced to return to the gate because one traveller would not put on a face covering.
“Why get on the plane in the first place if you’re going to refuse to follow the safety rules? Would he also refuse to wear a seatbelt? Or start smoking on board?” she said, adding that the crew handled the situation “very responsibly” and with “remarkable patience and good humour”.
Miami police boarded the aircraft and removed the woman and those she was travelling with, Ms Kay reported, but the flight was delayed further still because the passengers would not leave the jetway.
“[The captain] says he’s never seen anything like it in 33 years of flying!” she said.
Another journalist Suzanne Kianpour, who was also on the flight, posted a video of the altercation and said: “A passenger on this Delta flight refuses policy to wear mask. Then won’t get off plane. Then hits flight attendant. Announcement that Miami Dade police on their way.”
Here’s what happened on our @delta flight from #Miami to #Atlanta tonight after a passenger refused to wear a mask as per policy and then gets into altercation with flight attendant. Video via @kingcoreythefirst on IG pic.twitter.com/TBBYq1VCBb
— Suzanne Kianpour (@KianpourWorld) October 20, 2020
