A Frontier Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Miami over the weekend erupted into chaos after a passenger began groping and assaulting the flight crew, requiring other passengers who had to wrangle him back into a seat.
A 22-year-old man from Ohio was arrested after he attacked the flight crew of a Frontier flight on July 31, ABC 7 New York reports. According to the police report, the man had downed two drinks and had ordered a third when he started behaving weirdly, from ABC 7 New York:
The report said Berry brushed an empty cup against the backside of a flight attendant.
Berry then spilled his new drink on his shirt, went to the bathroom, and came out shirtless, the report said. A flight attendant helped him get another shirt from his carry-on.
That’s bad enough, but after walking around the aircraft for about 15 minutes, Fox 8 reports, the passenger allegedly wrapped his arms around two flight attendants and groped their breasts.
Another passenger on the flight caught some of the interaction on video, covered by Local 10 News. The passenger could be seen insulting someone off-camera while screaming that his parents are worth $US2 ($3) million:
A male flight attendant was called in to monitor him and hopefully calm him down, but the passenger punched that flight attendant in the face.
A fight broke out as other passengers and the flight crew tried to restrain the passenger. Eventually they succeeded and managed to duct-tape the passenger to his seat for the remainder of the flight. Upon landing, police arrested the passenger and booked him into Miami-Dade County Jail where he faces three counts of battery.
Frontier Airlines is facing backlash on social media after it suspended the flight attendants pending an investigation, from Frontier:
During a flight from Philadelphia to Miami on July 31, a passenger made inappropriate physical contact with a flight attendant and subsequently physically assaulted another flight attendant. As a result, the passenger needed to be restrained until the flight landed in Miami and law enforcement arrived. The flight attendants will be, as required in such circumstances, relieved of flying pending completion of investigation of the events.
The flight attendants did a fantastic job here and I hope Frontier allows them to fly again soon.
The passenger’s troubles may not end with battery charges as the FAA is charging those who attack flight crews with fines up to $US35,000 ($47,352) with potential jail time.
Update 3:00 p.m. EDT: President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, Sara Nelson, has released a statement calling on Frontier to support the crew involved in this incident:
If this is not immediately corrected @FlyFrontier, Flight Attendants may feel unsafe to come to work. Management has a legal duty to maintain a safe work environment for employees. #OurSafetyYourDuty https://t.co/NChl8gWmV1 pic.twitter.com/BW2lyWGfJg
— Sara Nelson (@FlyingWithSara) August 3, 2021