Entitlement doesn’t fly—literally. A Delta flight attendant on TikTok is spilling the in-flight tea about the first passenger she ever kicked off a plane. A man, bitter about not being upgraded to first class, refused to verbally confirm he’d assist in an emergency from his exit-row seat—because “nodding was enough.”
Moments later, the captain personally escorted him off the plane, and the kicker? He thought he was finally getting that first-class upgrade.
What are Delta’s Exit Row Requirements?
Savannah (@savannah0191) might have just been four months into her now 10-year career, but her story remains relevant today. At 918,000 views, it’s clear the tale as old as time always gathers attention–in this case, entitlement.
Savannah begins her four-and-a-half-minute story by saying, “ A guy walks on board and starts talking to the flight attendant up front. I cannot hear what he is saying, but I can hear him because he is loud.”
This should have been the first sign. Savannah continues, saying that the man finally gets to her row, and she greets him warmly. In turn, he rolls his eyes and says, “Ugh, here I go back with all these peasants.” Apparently, he was upset because he hadn’t received the first class upgrade he wanted.
Why can’t he just say yes?
Savannah shares that it was her duty to brief the passengers sitting on the exit rows. As luck would have it, Mr. Entitled Passenger was one of these people. This is where the story gets spicy. When the attendant asked the standard safety question—could he verbally confirm he’d help in an emergency?—he simply nodded his head. Of course, as per FAA rules, passengers need to verbally respond, “Yes.”
“In the United States… all passengers seated in the exit row must be able to understand and speak English. This is one of the reasons flight attendants are required to receive a verbal yes from passengers seated in the exit row. This verbal response allows flight attendants to determine whether or not a passenger can understand what the flight attendant is saying and can articulate a logical response,” it stated.
Savannah’s passenger refused to say “yes.” She asks him again, and he gets upset and insists a head nod was good enough. Big mistake. Savannah simply walks to the Delta captain and asks him to remove the rude passenger. Minutes later, the captain personally comes to escort the passenger off the plane. In a plot twist straight out of karma’s playbook, the man thought he was finally getting his first-class upgrade. Spoiler: he wasn’t. The gate agent gets him off the plane and the flight is on its way shortly after.
‘Why Can’t People Just Be Kind?’
As the TikTok keeps reaching more For You Pages, viewers swarm in the comments to laugh at the passenger’s karma.
One viewer says, “A classic FAFO ([expletive] around and find out) moment.” Another says, “He got upgraded alright!”
Some people are just baffled at the absurdity of the situation. One viewer says, “All he had to do was say ‘yes’…i’ll never understand people.”
Another shares, “He couldn’t be respectful enough to follow your instructions, idk why he thought the captain of all ppl would be upgrading his seat.”
A logical viewer shares, “In the event of an emergency you would have had zero confidence in his cooperation. 100% correct call.”
Lastly, this viewer’s comment sums it up: “Flight attendants keep us safe, keep things running efficiently, AND they give us snacks. They deserve literally all of the respect.”
@savannah0191 the first ever person I had removed ?
♬ original sound – Savannah
The Mary Sue reached out to Savannah via TikTok direct message and to Delta via media contact form.
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