If you’ve ever had an exit row seat on a plane, you’re probably aware flight attendants will usually ask you if you’re able to assist other passengers if there is an emergency.
However, one passenger on a recent Frontier Airlines flight in the US got into a heated verbal altercation with staff while seated in the exit row, which reportedly led to her being kicked off the plane.
A fellow passenger who goes by TravelWithTia on TikTok posted a video of the incident on social media.
The video shows an older woman raising her voice at a flight attendant who appears to be explaining something about sitting in an exit row.
@travelwithtia23 When keeping it real goes wrong. Irrate lady refused to deplane, because of her non compliance and disrespect towards the flight attendant. We all had to deplane and she was then arrested. #travelwithtia #travelwithtia23 #blackvloggers #fyp #travel #traveltiktok #xyzbca #viral #traveltok #vacaciones #vacation #budget #budgettravel #tsa #tsaprecheck #airport #selfcare #airplanemode #clt #frontierairlines @Frontier Airlines ♬ original sound – Travel With Tia
Other staff members approach the woman, and she continues to argue. The unruly passenger said she was going to take care of her grandson while his mother was headed off on vacation. “I’m not getting off this plane,” she added.
At one point, the pilot even makes an announcement addressing the commotion, noting that authorities were on their way.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be underway here shortly. We gotta take care of this issue. Law enforcement will be arriving.”
The altercation continues, and the woman is eventually removed from the plane. The video shows officers arriving to escort her off in handcuffs. According to Tia’s post, all passengers on the flight were asked to deplane because of the incident.
From the initial video, it seems unclear why the woman was kicked off, but Tia provided further explanation in follow-up posts.
“This lady right here, when she first got on the plane and acknowledged the exit row, she said, ‘Oh, I’m not going to save anybody. If something happens, I’m going to save myself,’” Tia said. “That was her attitude throughout the seating process. And I already knew something was about to pop off when she had that attitude.”
Tia noted that she wasn’t sure if this was the woman’s first time in the exit row or whether she was joking but added that the flight attended needed a verbal “yes” from everyone in exit rows to ensure they understood that in the event of an emergency, they might have to assist.
However, the woman’s “attitude” when answering the question seemed to escalate the issue.
@travelwithtia23 Replying to @tttwwwwwwpppppppp12345 When keeping it real goes wrong. Explanation. Irrate lady refused to deplane, because of her non compliance and disrespect towards the flight attendant. We all had to deplane and she was then arrested. #travelwithtia #travelwithtia23 #blackvloggers #fyp #travel #traveltiktok #xyzbca #viral #traveltok #vacaciones #vacation #budget #budgettravel #tsa #tsaprecheck #airport #SelfCare #airplanemode #clt #frontierairlines @Frontier Airlines #storytime #part2 #parttwo ♬ original sound – Travel With Tia
In a second follow-up video, Tia added that the woman wasn’t removed for not agreeing to the exit row rules but because she “gave not one flight attendant but the other flight attendant… she gave them both attitudes… she was being extremely unruly and could not be consoled.”
According to reports, the incident took place on an Airbus A321 plane at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina.
Daily Hive has reached out to Frontier Airlines for comment.