Article: Man kicked off Southwest flight for vodka joke

triplets_93

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https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/man-kicked-off-southwest-flight-for-vodka-joke-013949969.html

As first reported by Fox 40, the unnamed passenger was escorted off the Wednesday flight from Sacramento, Calif., to Austin, Texas, for making a joke after a long delay that made the cabin and crew annoyed and restless.

Peter Uzelac and his wife sat on either side of the unnamed passenger while the crew attended to a blinking light in the cockpit. “We returned to the gate to wait for maintenance and to refuel, and then waited for clearance from air traffic control —in all, we were delayed by three to four hours,” Uzelac, 70, tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

When a young flight attendant distributed water, Uzelac says the man seated next to him joked, “Wow, I hope that’s vodka because we’ve been sitting here for so long.”

According to Uzelac, the attendant replied brusquely, “Yeah, it’s vodka” and when she moved to another row, the man joked, “Hey, this isn’t vodka.”

The employee allegedly returned to Uzelac’s row to confront the passenger, but Uzelac’s wife spoke up. “She said something like, ‘We’re all tired here. And that’s no way to speak to a passenger,’” he tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “They argued about it. I tried filming but my phone wasn’t working.”

The flight attendant allegedly walked to the front of the plane, made a phone call, and then suddenly, the plane taxied back to the terminal. Once parked, three deputies from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department walked onboard.

A police spokesperson didn’t return Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment, but Uzelac says two officers escorted the man off the plane despite his threats to sue the airline. A third officer stayed behind. “I stood up and told the officer that the flight attendant started all the trouble and other people shouted that the man did nothing wrong,” Uzelac tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
 

CowboyStar88

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Uh I hope that is investigated. I’ve never seen anything like that before. If that’s true? That person should lose his/her job. Completely uncalled for. A joke is a joke.
 

timb2

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I work in the Travel business and I am sure they make the passenger looks like an angel by the news. I am sure there was more going on. Most likely the passenger kept running his mouth over the delay or snide comments when the attendant was doing their job. Not that the plane could have a malfunction that could cost all the passengers lives if they ignored it and flew off? People today just think they have the right to lip off and gripe over everything even if everything is going well. People just want to take their &%@* out on someone and I agree with the flight attendant..... You have passengers wanting to tell you their life story just because they bought a ticket and think you should be forced to listen to their BS.. The arrogant idiot who thinks everyone should rub their butt for buying a ticket and should be thrilled by their presence . The hoodrat or wannabe hoodrat who think everyone wants to hear them through the whole trip whom the Flight Attendant has to try to shut up or turn down their music. The drunk moron running his mouth ( I am thinking this was most likely this guy) even before boarding the flight. The idiot with the cell phone,the profanity mouth moron,the loser with the service animal for emotional support and it is big as a Yeti. Morons who won't sit in the seat they have a ticket for,and TOP OF EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT A FREAKING TERRORIST OR IS THIS PERSON A NUTJOB BOARDING, BUT YOU CAN'T PROFILE.....Yeah that mean ole flight attendant didn't give them an extra bag of peanuts....I am not a flight attendant or a ticket agent but I know what they are going through
 

lukin2006

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If this is true. The flight attendant should be fired, forced to reimburse the airline for an unnecessary delay and the 3 cops who were to DUMB to ask questions and make a reasonable decision should also be fired...and that passenger should sue all involved...
 

DallasEast

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https://www.southwest.com/assets/pdfs/corporate-commitments/contract-of-carriage.pdf

Southwest Airlines Co. Contract of Carriage - Passenger
(CoC) – English Version
Revision: 22nd Revised
Effective Date: 03/17/2019

(Page 15)

6. Acceptance of Passengers

a. Refusal toTransport

General. Carrier may, in its sole discretion, refuse to transport, or may remove from an aircraft at any point, any Passenger in any of the circumstances listed below. The fare of any Passenger denied transportation or removed from Carrier’s aircraft en route under the provisions of this Section will be refunded in accordance with Section 9. The sole recourse of any Passenger refused transportation or removed en route will be the recovery of the refund value of the unused portion of his Ticket. Under no circumstances shall Carrier be liable to any Passenger for any type of special, incidental, or consequential damages.

<snip>

(4) Interference with Flight Crew. Passengers who interfere or attempt to interfere with any member of the flight crew in carrying out its duties.

*****************


It appears the airline allows any justified or pissed off crew member the option of throwing any passenger off any flight at any time IF the crew member makes a claim the passenger(s) are conflicting with his or her duties.

Any lawyer will have a field day suing the airline over their client's treatment but airline policy is extremely open-ended. It is likely the policy is worded the way it is to allow the flight crew complete autonomy for making decisions on every flight, which the airline would address any negative consequences afterwards.

In my opinion, anyone flying Southwest should avoid any crewperson who may look like they may be having a bad hair day lol.
 
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