A disturbing video obtained by the NY Post (embedded below) shows a woman clearly at her wits’ end after her Southwest Airlines flight was cancelled and she didn’t make it on as a standby on three consecutive flights. She can be seen yelling at an agent that she’s not going to make it to her brother’s funeral and she wants her money back and doesn’t want to wait three weeks.
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I obviously feel terrible for this woman but there’s no way Southwest or any airline can let her on a plane after her epic outburst of kicking the gate agent and smashing a computer. It took place at Orlando International Airport (MCO) which is full of children so it makes this even worse.
I’m not alone in having these mixed feelings. Here are some of the top comments from social media:
Ungiorno: “These incidents usually occur when people are completely at the end of their rope. Her original flight was cancelled and then failed to make the standby list for 3 consecutive flights, while on the way to bury her brother. Who cares about a computer screen? She had a totally understandable meltdown after being pushed to her limit. The screen will be fine. Southwest will be fine. She’s clearly not fine about missing her brother’s funeral, not many would be.”
Jennifermoonsneakyemrick: “She said something about “burying her brother.” Looks like she is grieving and just missed a flight to her brother’s funeral. It’s not okay to act out as she did but I didn’t see anyone else commenting on that. I feel sorry for everyone who experienced her anger but I feel sorry for her too. And yeah, where is security?”
o4.2o.87: “The caption is horrible. She’s not having a temper tantrum she’s grieving, she’s hurt, she’s angry. On the standby list, 3 consecutive flights she couldn’t get on, trying to get to her brother who is being removed from life support, and evidently someone told her something about waiting 3 weeks for a refund. I would be upset as well. Doesn’t mean she handled it appropriately and I’m not justifying her actions but I am giving her grace.”
There’s not much a gate agent can do if a flight cancels other than trying to put them on standby for the next flight. Unfortunately, many flights are going out at capacity so there’s no room to put them. If you really need to be somewhere, I always suggest going in a day or two early and/or booking a backup flight a few hours later with a different airline using miles. That way if your original flight cancels you can get on a different airline in a timely manner. And if the flight doesn’t cancel you can cancel your backup flight for free.
I know it sounds easier than it is since sometimes you have to be somewhere at a moment’s notice and you don’t have miles or extra cash around to book a backup. It’s a tough situation and I feel this woman’s frustration. I also feel the frustration of the gate agent and other passengers wondering what is taking security so long to show up? Do better MCO and SWA.
