When passengers behave badly, it is generally it is toward others…not towards themselves. But a Delta passenger seemed to engage in a round of self-flagellation as she waited for her flight.
Delta Passenger Meltdown Raises An Awkward Question For Gate Agents
A video shows a Delta Air Lines passenger at the gate descending into what can only be described as a full meltdown.
The woman began hitting herself, punching herself, and even dropped to the floor, at one point asking, “why are you doing this to me?” while a gate agent stood nearby, seemingly trying to ignore her. Eventually, she gives up, shouts, “F-you,” and walks away.
The employee’s reaction, or lack thereof, is what stands out…he appears largely unfazed.
What Exactly Is The Gate Agent Supposed To Do?
It is easy to watch a clip like this and criticize the agent for not intervening more forcefully.
But think about the alternatives.
A gate agent is neither law enforcement nor medical staff. And physically intervening with a distressed passenger creates real liability, both for the employee and the airline. If he grabs her and she is injured, that becomes a different kind of incident entirely.
Calling airport police is the obvious answer, but that takes time. In the moment, the safest course may actually be to observe, keep distance, and escalate to the appropriate authorities.
That may look like indifference on video, but it strikes me as a reasonable reaction.
Episodes like this don’t seem so rare any longer, though social media certainly exacerbates it. Whether driven by stress, alcohol, missed flights, delays, or deeper mental health issues, airline employees face situations that fall well outside the scope of traditional customer service…I hope training now includes how to deal with folks like this.
In this case, we do not know what triggered the outburst. It could have been something as simple as a delay or missed connection, or something far more serious. Maybe she wasn’t even a passenger on the flight?
CONCLUSION
It is easy to laugh at a clip like this or criticize the employee for not doing more. But I’m not sure a direct intervention would have been wise. Intervene, and you risk making things worse. Do nothing, and it looks like you do not care.
I’ve written about a lot of bad passenger behavior, but I think this is the first time I’ve seen a passenger beat herself up. Hopefully she gets the help she needs…I’ll just leave it there.
image: @GAFollowers / X // hat tip: VFTW
Great job by the GA. This might have been the best way to de-escalate the situation. By outcome, it apparently was the perfect response. I think if you asked about this, the response would be, “not the weirdest display I’ve seen . . . today.”
This kind of behavior at gates, at the ticket counters, on the planes, at security etc goes on all the time every day everywhere. Why is this newsworthy? Ask yourself……what would you have done if you would’ve been the agent? Touch her you’re sued and you’ve escalated the situation…….call the cops or security and she’s gone by the time they get there……
People are morons. This is not news.
Just look at the White House, and imagine what kind of idiot voted for him. By the millions. Sadly, that’s who we are. We are a failed species.
We deserve a direct hit from a big asteroid or comet to cleanse the Earth of it’s human infection. Bring it on, soon – please.
This behaviour is way beyond anything that can reasonably be attributed to “moron”. The woman is clearly a very disturbed individual. Hopefully she’s now detained for the protection of herself and others until the problem can diagnosed and brought under control.
Butterfly net needed.
Only is America hahahaha
Only In America, that is
While I have no idea whether she’s genuinely ill or this is some weird histrionics I will say that if I were actually trying to injure myself I’d punch myself a great deal harder than that or ram my head into an immovable object.
This shows that Delta Skymiles have devalued so bad that customers are beating themselves up for ever having collected them.
Seems like a psychiatric or less likely a medical issue to this ER physician. So I’m curious as to why you think that “calling airport police is the obvious answer”? What legal problem (as a lawyer yourself) is superseding a medical or psychiatric emergency in this scenario?
this is a situation where you are doomed if you interfere and criticized if you don’t
for me I remember the poor Marine who restrained the out of control subway lunatic
who was clearly menacing passengers screaming “someone is going to die” and “I don’t care if they send me to jail again”
days of the Good Samaritan are over
Sad.
Ideally, the GA could remove the woman from her next flight. No one wants that happening at 35,00 feet in an enclosed metal tube?
Exactly… GA should have called law enforcement immediately (provided there wasn’t an imminently departing flight he was closing out). Law enforcement should be quite easily be able to contact her anywhere in the airside based on video surveillance. They could evaluate her for mental stability & hold or release her. And it should be incumbent on DL to determine if she is fit to fly that day, for the safety of other pax, crew, aircraft & herself….,
As a airline person i would first assume tourettes syndrome and calmly allow the moment to pass in the meantime the emergency help button would have been pshed.
I hate to see this because I always say this is someone’s daughter, mother, sibling etc; clearly a case of mental illness or demon possession ? She may not even have been talking to him (the gate agent) or was just talking back to voices in her head. Either way, we live in a terribly stressed, mentally strained society. I hope she gets help and doesn’t hurt herself or anyone else before it is too late.
Frontier and Spirit passengers cause airport riots. A least Delta passengers keep it to themselves.