A man’s profanity-laced temper tantrum over a crying baby aboard a Southwest flight traveling across Florida has gone viral after footage of the melee was released online this week.
The plane, bound for Fort Lauderdale, was rerouted to Orlando after the incident “due to weather,” a Southwest spokesperson told USA TODAY on Thursday.
“It was a little bumpy and uncomfortable for everyone and the child was upset, but we couldn’t get up because of the weather, and we were strapped in our seats,” Mark Grabowski, a passenger on the flight who recorded the video, told local station FOX 35.
“Just out of nowhere this other passenger in the video basically said shut that baby up, and it escalated from there,” according to Grabowski.
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‘Why is the baby yelling?’
In portions of the video, Grabowski is seen laughing with a passenger sitting beside him, apparently in shock over the man’s actions.
“Can you calm the child down, please? I had headphones on. I was sleeping,” the unidentified man asks a flight attendant in footage, recorded by a passenger.
“Why is the baby yelling? I’m not screaming. Want me to scream? I’ll (expletive) scream. Please stop the baby,” the man is heard saying during the nearly 4 minute video. “We are in a (expletive) tin can with a baby in a (expletive) echo chamber… Can you lower that voice?”
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“I paid for a ticket to have a (expletive) comfortable flight,” the man is heard yelling in another portion of the clip. “That child has been crying for 40 minutes!”
Southwest crew members attempted to calm the man down, before a flight attendant eventually instructs another to contact authorities.
Grabowski said flight attendants eventually moved a woman and the baby to another part of the plane.
‘We appreciate the patience’
On Thursday, Southwest declined to comment on specifics about the situation but commended its crew for dealing “for exhibiting outstanding professionalism while handling a challenging situation.”
“We appreciate the patience of our other Customers onboard who had to experience the unacceptable behavior,” the airline released in a statement to USA TODAY.
“From the video, it appears the flight was holding due to weather, allowing the crew to remove the passenger prior to departure,” a Southwest spokesperson later said.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.