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Home / Travel

Man screams at baby on Southwest flight, passenger records wild shouting match freak out

Thomas Bywater
By Thomas Bywater
Writer and Multimedia Producer·NZ Herald·
20 Apr, 2023 11:58 PM3 mins to read

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'Sir, you're yelling'. 'So is the baby!': The passenger got into a screaming match on the Southwest flight. Photo / TikTok, mjgrabowski

'Sir, you're yelling'. 'So is the baby!': The passenger got into a screaming match on the Southwest flight. Photo / TikTok, mjgrabowski

A man caused outrageous scenes on a Southwest Airlines plane after getting into a screaming match with a crying baby.

The delayed flight to Orlando Florida was stuck in a holding pattern for 45 minutes due to weather, when the passenger finally snapped.

The tantrum of epic proportions broke out and the passenger began screaming back at the baby, which had been crying during the long delay.

Swearing and yelling the cabin crew intervened in the air rage incident but the irate passenger continued to wail.

Other passengers could not believe what they were hearing. One traveller recorded the interaction, posting the yelling match to TikTok, where it found a huge audience.

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“Sir, you are screaming,” said a cabin crew member.

“So is the baby!” he screamed back.

Cry baby: Some passengers found the encounter mortifying, others hilarious. Photo / TikTok, mjgrabowski
Cry baby: Some passengers found the encounter mortifying, others hilarious. Photo / TikTok, mjgrabowski

Trying to diffuse the situation, an air steward pleaded with the passenger to be rational.

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“We are in an f***ing tin can with a baby, in a goddamn echo chamber, and you want to talk to me about being rational?”

There was clearly no silencing the man. The baby meanwhile continued to wail.

At points he began yelling at airline workers to keep their voices down, asking “Did that motherf***er pay extra to yell?”

'Sir, you're yelling'. 'So is the baby!': The passenger got into a screaming match on the Southwest flight. Photo / TikTok, mjgrabowski
'Sir, you're yelling'. 'So is the baby!': The passenger got into a screaming match on the Southwest flight. Photo / TikTok, mjgrabowski

Sharing the clip under the handle mjgrabowski, some passengers in the video were clearly shocked. Others found the situation hysterical.

The video has been viewed quarter of million times since it was posted on Tuesday, the day after Southwest grounded its nationwide fleet and 2000 flights.

An update after the screaming had apparently ended showed the man talking with airport police and airline staff in the arrivals gate.

This is after the flight was further delayed when the furious passenger “refused to get off the plane”, according to mjgrabowski.

The female travel companion of the irate man cradled her head in shame.

“Well’ that’s probably not how his wife imagined their Florida getaway going,” said the TikToker.

The disruptive passenger was cautioned by Orlando Airport Police after the delayed arrival. Photo / TikTok, mjgrabowski
The disruptive passenger was cautioned by Orlando Airport Police after the delayed arrival. Photo / TikTok, mjgrabowski

Viewers of the video were split equally into those that were appalled and those who found the situation hilarious.

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“If a person has that big of a problem with a crying baby they should have rented a car and drove, took bus or train,” said one, who felt the man was not yet mature enough for public transport.

“Have we tried swaddling this man? He needs some soothing techniques,” wrote one viewer.

Some felt that the irate man was simply “vocalizing how most feel” about the sound of babies crying on planes.

Others felt sorry for the parents travelling with the child.

“As a mom who has dealt with this, it’s utterly humiliating,” wrote another

Southwest Airlines said that it was not immediately able to work out on which service the incident took place, due to widespread disruption.

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“We do not have details on this flight to share but commend our flight crew for their professionalism and offer our apologies to the other customers onboard,” a spokesperson told Today.com in a statement.

Orlando airport police did not have any comment at this time.

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