Mid-air Mayhem: Heated Brawl Breaks Out Between Two Southwest Passengers on Hawaii Flight
Two Southwest Airlines passengers got into a fight mid-air.
Feb. 14 2024, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
A fight broke out between two Southwest Airlines passengers mid-flight, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Chaos occurred about an hour into flight 1288's journey from Oakland, California, to Kauaʻi, Hawaii, on Monday.
A fight broke out an hour into a Southwest flight headed to Hawaii.
A shocking video captured the moment when several fellow passengers and flight crew were forced to intervene in the scuffle between the rowdy passengers.
According to an Instagram video of the fight, blows were exchanged over a suspected combination of "some alcohol and perhaps some violation of personal space."
A man in the aisle exchanged punches with another passenger seated near a window.
In the video, a man dressed in a gray hoodie and baseball cap stood in the aisle and was involved in a heated exchange with another male located near a window seat.
The second man reached over a woman in the middle seat and slapped the arm of the male standing in the aisle, who reacted with a responding swipe. The man in the aisle then struck the other male in the head and face several times.
Flight crew and other passengers scrambled to break up the fight.
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While punches flew through the air, the flight crew and other passengers responded to the scene in an attempt to break up the fight. One passenger recalled the chaos to Hawaii News Now.
"I heard yelling, screaming and punches. I turned around and saw one man bleeding and then the other man being separated," passenger Jim Wieder explained.
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Fortunately, another man, who was dressed in a blue hoodie and baseball cap and later identified as Dan, attempted to calm the man in the aisle. Dan calmly spoke to his fellow passenger — who continued to shout at the other man — and slowly walked him down the aisle, away from confrontation.
The Instagram post applauded Dan's actions that helped diffuse the situation, noting how he "maintains eye contact, uses non-threatening body language and tactical empathy, validates his feelings and offers alternate solutions."
The flight continued to its destination, where several police officers were waiting at the gate for the passengers involved in the fight.
The flight continued to Hawaii, where police were waiting at the gate.
The Federal Department of Transportation addressed the chaotic mid-flight incident in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"Our department has zero tolerance for violent or unruly behavior aboard an aircraft. If you act out on an airplane, you can face criminal prosecution and fines up to $37,000," the post read.
It remains unclear if either man was charged over the incident.
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