Southwest passengers threatened arrest in viral video over Christmas
Southwest Airlines was already having a terrible end to the year after a massive winter storm forced it to make flight cancellations that far outpaced those of its industry peers. Then somehow the PR nightmare got worse.
At Nashville International Airport on Christmas night, a police officer threatened to arrest stranded Southwest passengers if they failed to leave a secured area of the airport. A video of the incident went viral on social media after it was posted on TikTok by a passenger. Other videos circulating on social media also captured parts of the incident.
In the video, which has been viewed over 910,000 times since it was posted two days ago, the officer warned passengers that they must leave the area or they would be “arrested for trespassing.”
“Right now,” he continued. “Everyone on the unsecured side. The ticket counter will help you with any questions.”
Shelley Morrison, who was among the passengers with her three daughters, had been queuing at a gate in the southwest hoping to get more information on what was happening to her flight, she said Tennessee.
After she and others waited nearly an hour for clarification, one of the workers announced over the intercom that she was leaving – and called security. No one told passengers they had to leave if they had a canceled ticket, Morrison told the local newspaper.
“The Southwest is calling us”
Two police officers from the airport’s Public Safety Department soon arrived at the scene, as Morrison’s daughter, Amani Robinson, began recording video.
An officer told passengers in the video, “If you don’t have a ticket, you don’t have to be on the secured side.” When someone said he had tickets, he replied, “Your tickets have just been cancelled.”
Morrison again asked the officer about a possible arrest, after which he reiterated, “If you don’t have a valid ticket and you’re on the secured side and you refuse to leave, you’ll be arrested… If your ticket is canceled, no no longer have a ticket.” You understand that, don’t you?”
“Right now, Southwest is calling us because you guys are gathering here and they’re trying to close this gate,” he added.
The officer grew impatient as Morrison tried again to “make the legal connection,” as she said in the video, telling him she was an attorney.
“Are you refusing to leave the secured site?” he asked pointedly.
“No, I’m not refusing to go,” she replied. “I would like additional information. Can you tell me the statue?”
“It’s airport and plane security,” he replied.
“You don’t have a section?” she asked.
“I don’t have to give you the code. If you are a lawyer you can look that up.”
Morrison thanked him and went with others to where he indicated.
Southwest responds
When contacted by wealth, a Southwest spokesman said staff “have not asked any customers to be escorted out of the gate area.” Instead, the company had “requested local law enforcement to be present at a gate to assist with crowd control while our team worked with customers.”
A spokesman for Nashville International Airport, also known by the airport code BNA, replied:
“The extraordinary number of flight cancellations over the past week has caused great stress for our travelers and included an unfortunate incident involving a passenger, airline staff and a BNA official. We deeply regret this and take this situation to heart. We are working with Southwest Airlines and our other airlines to encourage better communication between team members so every traveler can have the best experience at BNA.:
wealth also contacted the Department of Transportation about the airport incident, but received no immediate response.
Southwest passengers attempting to find alternative routes were faced with inflated fares from other airlines, some of which — amid public backlash — announced fare caps on affected routes.
The Department of Transportation said this week it would launch an investigation into Southwest Airlines. It wrote in a tweet that it was “concerned about Southwest’s unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays and reports of a lack of prompt customer service. The Department will review whether cancellations were manageable and whether Southwest is adhering to its customer service plan.”
This article has been updated with responses from Southwest Airlines and the airport.
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