Flier Booted in Dispute Over Exit Row Duties

The woman reportedly said 'If something happens, I'm going to save myself'
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 21, 2024 6:25 AM CDT

Footage of the incident.
(YouTube)

An airline passenger seated next to an emergency exit was led off a plane in handcuffs this month after reportedly saying she wasn't going to "save anybody." A TikTok user recorded footage of the Frontier Airlines passenger arguing with flight attendants and passengers as the plane sat grounded at North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport on May 9. According to TikTok user Travel with Tia, the woman didn't seem to understand that passengers seated in the exit row need to verbally agree to assist in operating the exit door in case of an emergency. Though the woman claimed she'd verbally assented, she was overheard saying she would prioritize her own safety, per the New York Post.

"When she first got on the plane and acknowledged the exit row, she said, 'Oh, I'm not going to save anybody. If something happens, I'm going to save myself,'" the TikToker wrote, per the Independent. Then "she had an attitude with giving the verbal yes because she thought shaking her head was sufficient and didn't realize or didn't want to realize why she had to give a verbal yes," the user wrote, per the Post. The woman was seen arguing with flight attendants before she was asked to get off the plane. "What is the problem?" she asked, according to the footage. "We understand we gotta help people get off the plane."

At one point, the woman told a flight attendant to "get out my damn face," per the Independent. Later a pilot tried reasoning with her. Other passengers also urged the woman to get off the plane, but she refused and claimed she was calling her lawyer. She said she was on her way to pickup her 4-year-old grandson. "His mama took a flight to Mexico, and I'm not getting off this plane," she said, per the Independent. "We all agreed. Everybody can witness that." All passengers ultimately had to disembark before police officers removed the woman in handcuffs. It's unclear if she faced charges. Frontier did not respond to requests for comment, per the Post. (More unruly passenger stories.)

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