An unruly passenger aboard an American Airlines flight was detained by police after being put in a headlock then thrown off the plane for hurling anti-Semitic slurs at an attendant.
The fracas happened on American Airlines Flight 2506, destined for Philadelphia, and started before the plane left the airbridge at Tampa International Airport on Tuesday afternoon.
In a video of the incident, the passenger can be seen verbally assaulting staff and fellow passengers as the unrest developed.
He went on causing a commotion on board the aircraft before calling a flight attendant a k*** – an ethnic slur for a Jewish person.
According to the New York Post, he accused others of conspiring against him and hurled hurled derogatory language, including slurs based on antisemitism, at anyone who approached.
He also accused other flyers of “teaming up” on him as he was directed off the aircraft by a gaggle of passengers and crew.
As the headlocker tries to manhandle him off the aircraft, the unruly passenger says: “I’m schizophrenic”, to which the headlocker replies: “So am I – walk.”
Video of the incident quickly went viral on social media.
NEW: American Airlines passenger gets put in a headlock and escorted off plane after yelling an anti-Semitic slur and blaming white people for his problems.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 21, 2024
The man was accused of hitting someone and got angry, triggering him to launch anti-Semitic slurs.
"I'll see about it… pic.twitter.com/WLHuqeOV91
The Tampa International Airport Police Department told the Philadelphia Inquirer a man was arrested outside the plane around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and charged with disorderly intoxication and two counts of battery.
American Airlines told the outlet law enforcement was called to the plane because of “a disturbance in the cabin involving a disruptive customer.”
The flight was delayed due to the brouhaha.
“We thank our team for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” American Airlines reportedly said.
