There’s a wild video circulating on social media showing a group of officers in full combat-style gear pulling a passenger off a Southwest Airlines flight. The flight was scheduled from New York’s LaGuardia (LGA) to Dallas Love Field (DAL) but was diverted to Nashville (BNA).
The video was posted on TikTok by @kfox_marketingguru, who captioned it: We were diverted going to Dallas to Nashville on Southwest for “gas fill-up”. 😳 #plottwist”
@kfox_marketingguru We were diverted going to Dallas to Nashville on Southwest for “gas fill-up”. 😳 #plottwist ♬ original sound – KFOX Marketing Guru
In a follow-up post, Candice shared Southwest Airlines’ official response to her about the incident and the delay:
“On behalf of Southwest Airlines, I join my fellow Employees in offering our sincere apologies for the unexpected circumstances you experienced after Flight #2556 departed from LaGuardia earlier today. Out of an abundance of caution, our Pilots diverted to Nashville in order for Law Enforcement officials to investigate a potential security issue. The Safety of our Passengers and Employees will always be at the heart of every decision we make.
We greatly appreciated your cooperation while we worked through these challenges and offer our heartfelt apologies for our delayed arrival into Dallas.
We are a Company built on serving others through the delivery of safe and reliable air transportation. Your continued patronage is important to us and we hope you continue giving us the privilege of seeing you onboard. In that spirit, I’m sending you a LUV Voucher (in a separate email, which will arrive within fourteen days) that can be applied as a form of payment toward a new Southwest reservation. We look forward to welcoming you onboard another flight in the near future.”
@kfox_marketingguru Apparentely 18 hours in airports, a diverted flight to Rambo someone off our plane suspected of having explosives, and getting home at 2am was worth a preemptive $100 flying credit for next time. 😂#southwestcares #fyp #divertedflight #noplacelikehome ♬ origineel geluid – Tik Toker
Most people on social media think the response was excessive, especially considering everyone and their bags had already passed through security screening.
Some of the most telling comments:
“Terrible things are happening outside. At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes.” — quoting Anne Frank
“Cops that never served in military playing military 😂”
“Who gave these guys a gift card to their favorite tactical cosplay retailer?”
“And just like that, it’s 1930s Germany. This is terrifying.”
“Now why would they be going through a bag on a plane full of people? This is intimidation tactics.”
“Cops doing cosplay as military soldiers and one carrying an automatic assault rifle on an airplane — seriously just a prop, would cause way too much collateral damage.”
“Well they’re going through the bag on the plane, so they know there’s nothing dangerous in it. Why are they dressed for war?”
“So they’re in full military gear with night goggles? Divert a commercial airline? For what?”
“What were they expecting? He already went through security to board the plane. That was excessive.”
“Gestapo tactics. Putting fear out there so no one will do anything.”
“I was on this flight next to the guy they took away. He seemed normal, had an American accent. We were told there was a threat and it seemed maybe false. Bomb squad didn’t act like there was something real in the bag.”
“Worked in the airline industry for 20 years. Not once did law enforcement go through a passenger’s bag on the aircraft. The number of officers who boarded is not normal.”
“What the hell do you need a helmet in an airplane for? It’s an airport. Everyone has been thoroughly searched.”
“Unless that person was an active threat, they could’ve picked him up at the plane door. I’ve seen ICE, NYPD, US Marshals do it without diverting flights.”
“Did he seriously just go through that dude’s bag on the plane?!”
“The story on the news says the man’s wife called in a bomb threat. After they detained him and realized he had no idea, the wife got a visit from the FBI.”
Many users are questioning the necessity of such force on a commercial flight, suggesting it may be more about optics and control than actual security. It sounds like to me the wife found out her husband was cheating on her and she’s trying to get back at him but she made a huge mistake since she could (and hopefully will) do some jail time.
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Bomb threat….the butt hurt people thinking it’s too much are the ones who would be crying if something did happen and they were too relaxed about it. Can’t make liberals happy. This is why liberalism is mental disorder.