An American Airlines flight from Costa Rica to Dallas turned tense when an entitled passenger interrupted pre-flight safety instructions to tell a flight attendant to “shut up.”
The confrontation, caught on video by a seatmate, ended with the disruptive traveler being escorted off the plane before takeoff.
The clip quickly spread online, sparking debates over passenger behavior and the challenges faced by flight attendants on a daily basis.
The flight attendant and passenger’s confrontation was captured on video
The viral footage, which was taken by Instagram user Jay Crenshaw, was taken during the standard pre-flight safety demonstration.
As the instructions played over the intercom, the woman loudly interjected, telling the flight attendant that “she should shut up.”
The crew member immediately confronted her. “Do you want to get off the plane? Because I don’t feel comfortable with you if you’re not going to follow instructions,” the attendant firmly stated.
The passenger tried to deflect, claiming she couldn’t hear, but the attendant wasn’t convinced, according to the New York Post.
“You’re not on my list as someone who can’t hear. So I’m going to ask the pilot to remove you because you’re not complying. You know what you did, right?” she responded.
The flight attendant then asked other passengers if they could hear the announcements just fine, to which everyone agreed.
At one point, the staff member also pointed out that the woman had failed to turn off her phone, prompting the passenger to argue that her phone was off, while stuffing her evidently activated phone in her seat’s storage pouch.
The clip cut out after the passenger noted that she would comply with orders, but later on, the video showed the passenger claiming that the flight attendant was harassing her.
Ultimately, the entitled passenger was escorted off the aircraft, which her seatmate considered a win. “Empty middle seat is a win for me,” Crenshaw wrote in his Instagram post.
Crenshaw explained that the entitled passenger seemed like she was having a bad day
In a later comment to the NYP, Crenshaw stated that he felt empathy for the flight attendant because she “caught a stray” when she was just doing her job.
At the same time, the Instagram user noted that the entitled passenger seemed like she knew she was out of line.
“She was having a bad morning and was obviously disturbed or irritated about something she was on the phone talking about,” he said.
“The flight attendant might’ve caught a stray. I think the passenger knows she was wrong. She mentioned that she also lost her phone and had to borrow one.”
Crenshaw also reflected on how easy it is for moments like these to spiral when things become stressful or when cameras are rolling.
“I’m definitely not excusing her behavior (but) we’ve all had bad days and have said bad things because of it, but we weren’t filmed. I hope people can remember this and give her a bit of grace,” he stated.
Netizens, however, were less forgiving, with some stating that the passenger should have been more considerate since her actions affected not just the flight attendant, but the entire flight.
“A bad day is no excuse for treating other people with complete disrespect. That said, it’s never too late to learn how to manage stress and be a better person,” one commenter wrote.
“As a former flight attendant of 23 years, I’ve never seen the rudeness of these passengers of today. And I applaud any of the airline employees of today who don’t tolerate inappropriate behavior,” wrote another.
“Having a bad day is no excuse for lashing out at others. Turning off your phone and shutting up while the crew does their job is not a tall order,” another commenter stated.
Passengers’ behavior in airlines has been under the spotlight as of late
American Airlines has not yet commented on the incident, but videos of unruly passengers have become a recurring feature of travel news.
In recent weeks, a woman in New Zealand was removed from a flight after drunkenly cursing at staff and dancing in the aisle while the plane was taxiing.
Another widely shared clip showed a man on a UK-to-Dubai flight being restrained for several hours after verbally abusing crew members.
For many viewers of the Costa Rica–Dallas flight video, however, the line was clear.
Telling a flight attendant to “shut up” during safety instructions wasn’t just rude. It created an unsafe environment before the plane had even left the ground.
Netizens shared their thoughts on the rude passenger and the flight attendant’s reaction on social media
