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01x03 - Be Kind, Don't Recline

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Airline Wars". Aired: September 21, 2024.*
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Airline drama is at an all-time high and we've got the viral videos to prove it.

01x03 - Be Kind, Don't Recline

Post by bunniefuu »

[dramatic music]

- [Narrator] In

airplanes and airports,

people are acting up.

[passenger screaming]

- Call the police on me?

I call the police on you.

[passenger shouting]

- [Narrator] and acting

out more than ever.

- If there's no flight,

just say there's no flight.

- [Narrator] In recent years,

unruly passenger incidents

have more than doubled.

- [Narrator] And all of

it is caught on camera.

[people screaming]

[body slamming]

So fasten your seatbelts.

We're headed for the

not-so-friendly skies.

- We gonna [bleep]

all night, b*tch!

[dramatic music]

- Missing your flight is one

of the perils of air travel,

but it's definitely not as bad

as losing your kid

during check-in.

At Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson

International Airport,

this two-year-old slips

past an airline counter

and climbs right onto the

luggage conveyor belt.

[dramatic music]

- [Narrator] The

boy's frantic mother

shows airport staff where

her son was last seen

before he got swept away.

It may seem like a fun

amusement park ride to a kid,

but with all the moving

parts and heavy luggage,

it's actually an

extremely dangerous place.

And the danger intensifies

when one of the scanners

picks up the child

as an abnormality and

sends him even farther

into the airport to a TSA room

where bags are

manually searched.

There, airport staff

finally spot the little

one and rush to his rescue.

He's rushed away

to a holding room,

where an officer with a

bodycam looks after him

until his mother claims him.

- [Officer] His mother just

arrived to the carousel.

[child crying]

- [Employee] What happened?

- What happened?

- [Narrator] Reportedly,

the boy's hand

was severely bruised

during the ordeal.

So Atlanta first responders

arrive and treat him,

finally ending a mom's

worst airport nightmare.

[dramatic music]

[plane engine roaring]

Air travel, it's supposed to be

a family-friendly environment.

That's why, on this

flight in Washington, DC,

a passenger was asked

to remove her hat

displaying the F word,

a violation of

airline regulations.

That word on your

hat is inappropriate.

- [Narrator] The airline's

Contract of Carriage

reserves the right

to remove a passenger

whose attire creates

an unreasonable risk

of offense or annoyance

to other passengers,

but that doesn't really

resolve this face-off.

- Do you understand

the two options?

So, which is it? Tell

me now which is it?

- [Narrator] Apparently,

just taking the hat off

isn't enough for the pilot,

who wants more assurance

she's not going

to put it back on.

Luckily, a fellow passenger

and off-duty officer

steps in to help.

- [Officer] I'm

telling you right now.

- [Narrator] The

off-duty cop offers

to hang on to the hat for

the rest of the flight.

It's not known if the

passenger took him up on it

or if she stayed

on the flight.

- [Narrator] Because

she stopped recording.

The airline issued a response

to the incident, saying,

- [Narrator] All travelers

dread flight delays,

but sometimes, it's the

passengers themselves

who are holding things up.

On a flight from Dallas to LA,

a man takes what he

claims is his seat,

though he was reportedly

assigned to a different row.

- [Narrator] And now,

another passenger

who says it's his seat

has nowhere to go,

but the man continues

to stand his ground.

- This is my seat.

- [Narrator] even when

the flight attendant

steps in and gives

him a reality check.

- [Flight Attendant] You're

not giving him his seat

and you're being rude.

-

[voices chattering]

- [Passenger] If

I miss my connection

to Hawaii because of this

- [Narrator] While the

police are en route,

the man becomes

increasingly agitated.

- That's my seat.

You don't like it?

- [Flight Atendant] It's

not your seat.

I don't care, that's my seat.

Call the police on me.

I'll call the police on you.

I don't give a [bleep].

- [Narrator] The flight

attendant tries in vain

to de-escalate the situation.

- I don't give a

[bleep]. That's my seat.

- [Flight Attendant]

You need to calm down.

- You take something from me?

I take what is mine.

- [Flight Attendant] You

need to calm down.

Okay, one more

time, calm down now.

- I take what is mine. Shut up.

- [Narrator] As the man

continues his angry rant,

fellow passengers

lose their patience.

- Don't [indistinct].

Take it.

- All right, I'm gonna shut up

and I'm gonna be in that seat.

Police coming right now.

I'm gonna stay in that seat.

You take me off this plane,

your a*s is going

to federal court.

Everybody, get off

the plane, please.

- All right everybody,

get off the plane, okay.

Everybody deplane.

[voices chattering]

- [Flight Attendant]

Ladies and gentlemen,

unfortunately,

everyone must deplane

the plane at this time.

Make sure you have your bags,

all belongings

and boarding pass.

We'll be re-boarding

in just a few moments.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

[passenger jabbering]

- It's you, me,

it's for everybody.

- [Narrator] Ordering

everybody off the plane

endangers plenty

of travel plans.

- [Narrator] But, it only seems

to make the man more defiant.

- [Narrator] Although

the man was escorted

off the plane by law

enforcement, no arrest was made.

After a 45-minute delay,

the flight re-boarded

and took off without him.

[plane engine r0ars]

[dramatic music]

These days, passengers

and airline staff are clashing

more than ever, and sometimes,

it's not just angry words.

- [Narrator] While boarding

a flight to New Orleans

at Denver International,

a traveler begins

recording an argument

between a fellow passenger

and an airline representative.

- Nah, man.

- [Narrator] It's not

clear from the recording

who started this

heated exchange or why,

but it seems the

passenger is being blocked

from boarding the flight.

- Don't go anywhere, okay?

- [Passenger] Excuse me?

- Yo, [indistinct]

[hand whacking]

- Get your hands offa me.

- Whoa!

You can't board, sir.

[voices chattering]

[child screaming]

[recording rewinding]

[hand whacking]

- [Narrator] When

the airline employee

appears to grab the

passenger's arm,

that's when it gets physical.

[hand whacking]

- Get your hands offa me.

- Whoa!

- [Narrator] That's

where this video ends,

but according to reports,

Denver Police arrived soon after

and removed the unruly

passenger from the plane.

[hand whacking]

- Whoa!

- Get your hands offa me.

[plane engine roaring]

- [Narrator] Airport

security is supposed

to be just that, secure,

and usually, it is.

But, all it takes

is one passenger

with bad intentions

to create utter chaos.

[dramatic music]

TSA surveillance

video shows this man

calmly approaching

a security line

at Louis Armstrong New

Orleans International Airport.

We can see he's

concealing one hand

inside a brown bag.

That's when he pulls out

a can of wasp spray

and fires at random.

[dramatic music]

Then, he suddenly

attacks the people

around him with a machete

[dramatic music]

and chases a TSA

officer with it.

When we slow the footage down

for a closer look, we see

him approach the line,

spray can in hand.

[tense music]

When he reaches for

the lethal blade,

a wild swing narrowly

misses one bystander.

Switching back to

the wasp spray,

he goes after the TSA agent,

spraying him

directly in the face.

The officer counters by

throwing a bin at the assailant,

knocking his bag to the floor.

As he chases agents

through the terminal,

an armed sheriff's

lieutenant intervenes.

She fires three shots,

[g*n firing]

hitting the assailant

and halting the attack.

Amidst the chaos, one TSA

officer is shot in the arm

and several travelers suffer

non-life threatening injuries.

Reports say the man

was a 63-year-old

from Kenner, Louisiana,

who had been suffering

from depression

and other mental issues.

Authorities later

found smoke bombs

and three gas tanks

in his vehicle.

His bag also contained

Molotov c*ck,

a grill lighter and a

plastic letter opener.

The assailant died

from his wounds

in the hospital

the following day.

[dramatic music]

- [Narrator] Every time

we get on a plane,

we're trusting the

pilot with our lives.

That's what makes this story

all the more disturbing.

A pilot arrives at

Minneapolis-Saint

Paul International,

ready to man a commercial

flight to San Diego.

After making it through

a standard checkpoint,

he realizes a random

secondary check

has been set up that day.

The pilot tells the TSA officer

he isn't ready to go through

yet and strolls away.

He reportedly tells

an air marshal

he had gone to the crew room

to retrieve a forgotten iPad.

The pilot continues

through the checkpoint

and gets on the plane.

Officers monitoring all of

this are still suspicious.

With the pilot moments

away from taking off,

they scramble to review

surveillance footage

from at least 15

different cameras,

and see that the pilot

didn't enter the crew

room as he claimed.

Footage shows the

pilot ducking into

this men's room for

just 27 seconds.

Officers tracking the

pilot lose him briefly

before he reappears back at

the screening checkpoint.

And then, the air marshal

discovers a bottle of vodka

he believes the pilot dropped

in the restroom trash.

Fearing the pilot

may be intoxicated,

police rush to

board the aircraft

and promptly remove him

from the first officer's chair.

He was in position,

ready to fly the plane.

A breathalyzer test

found the pilot's

blood alcohol level was .065.

Experts say even

a reading of .05

is enough to seriously impair

a person's driving ability.

Police arrested him

and he pleaded guilty

to attempting to

operate an aircraft

under the influence of alcohol.

The pilot was then

placed on probation

and required to complete

alcohol treatment.

He later resumed

his pilot duties.

[plane engine roars]

This airliner from Philadelphia

has just landed in Punta Cana,

a town in the

Dominican Republic.

The plane ride is over,

but the drama's not

when the flight attendant

makes a somewhat

puzzling announcement.

- [Narrator] She's

referring to a passenger

who allegedly just

told the crowded plane

that he has the Ebola virus,

a highly contagious and

potentially fatal virus

that causes fever, diarrhea,

vomiting and bleeding.

[dramatic music]

- [Narrator] Though

the baffled passengers

don't know exactly

what's going on,

the flight crew have alerted

local health officials

who come on board to remove

the potential health hazard.

- [Official] I appreciate that

you have to work tomorrow.

[passengers chattering]

- [Narrator] Whether the

man was joking or not,

this is no laughing matter.

- [Narrator] Luckily,

they get the man

off the plane without incident.

- [Narrator] Passengers

were held in their seats

on the runway for

two more hours,

until officials

finally confirmed

the man was not

infected with Ebola.

However, because

of the incident,

the man was required to

return to the US immediately.

[plane engine roaring]

[dramatic music]

What happens when

someone forgets

to engage the emergency brake?

[dramatic music]

An emergency.

Engineers and ground staff

try to push this

rolling airplane back,

but nothing can stop it

until something does,

[dramatic music]

[plane slamming]

another plane.

The good news?

There were no passengers

on either aircraft.

- [Narrator] There

are patient passengers

who sit calmly and wait for

their airplane to take off.

And then, there's this lady.

- Say what? We gonna

[bleep] all night, b*tch.

- [Narrator] Without warning,

right before the plane is

about to depart Atlanta,

she begins cursing and

exhibiting bizarre behavior.

- [Passenger] I have to go home.

[bleep] I have to go home.

- [Narrator] Gyrating,

climbing seats

and clawing at

overhead storage bins.

- And this b*tch, no.

- [Narrator] One thing is clear.

This passenger needs to get

off this airplane immediately.

So, several passengers

joined forces

to gently guide her

to the nearest exit.

[several passengers talking]

Once removed, the

woman was allegedly

brought to a hospital

for evaluation.

- Say what? [bleep]

We gonna [bleep]

all night, b*tch.

- [Narrator] And the

airline reported no injuries

during this seemingly

unprovoked outburst.

- b*tch, you're gonna

[bleep] be gone, b*tch.

[woman screaming]

[plane engine roars]

- [Narrator] To recline

or not to recline,

that is the question.

On a flight from New

Orleans to Charlotte,

this frustrated

woman records herself

as the man behind her hits

the back of her seat

over and over again.

Apparently, the man was bothered

by her choice to recline.

- [Narrator] She

reportedly asked

the cabin crew for help,

but they apparently refuse.

The woman later

gives an account,

indicating the crew

took the side of the man

and acknowledged his discomfort

from the reclined seat.

But, that's not where

this story ends.

According to the woman,

a flight attendant

demanded she delete the video,

threatened to remove her

from the plane if she didn't,

and handed her a passenger

disturbance notice.

The airline issued

a statement, saying

it was looking

into the incident.

Reportedly, the airline later

apologized to the woman.

[plane engine roars]

Of course, air

travel has its share

of feel good moments, too.

Inside Detroit Wayne

County Airport,

Emma Trabue is anxiously waiting

to welcome her

boyfriend, John Greco,

home from Air Force

basic training,

if he'll ever get there.

- Wow!

- [Traveler] Hey Mom,

what is going on?

- I don't know.

[dramatic music]

Oh my gosh, why is

he taking forever?

Enough of that. [laughing]

- [Mother] Emma,

this is k*lling me.

- This is killin' me.

[people laughing]

Here he comes.

- [Travelers] Yay.

- [Mother] Hey John.

[people cheering]

[people clapping]

[voices chattering]

- [Narrator] What

Emma doesn't know

is her mother and John secretly

planned something special.

[people cheering]

[people clapping]

[warm music]

[people cheering]

The happy couple tied the knot

just 10 days after

their airport proposal,

even though it took

John a while to arrive.

- [Mother] Emma,

this is k*lling me.

- This is killin' me. [laughing]

[bright shimmering sound]

[plane engine roaring]

- [Narrator] Delays are an

expected part of traveling.

Do you know what's not?

[dance music]

Dance parties.

If you're part of a dance crew

on your way to a major

televised dance competition,

but your flight is

delayed for six hours,

what do you do?

Well, if you're the

Funky Wunks Dance Crew

from Orlando, you bust a move.

[electronic music]

[people cheering]

- All right!

- [Narrator] And in New Zealand,

it's a Maori tradition to

welcome loved ones home

at the airport with a ceremonial

dance known as the Haka.

[Maori shouting]

This powerful dance

ritual is usually

performed in groups to represent

a tribe's pride,

strength and unity.

So, the next time your

flight is delayed,

dance like nobody's

watching, or in this case,

dance like the entire

airport is watching.

[plane engine roars]