Food Fight Breaks Out in Plane After Passenger Thinks Someone Was Flirting With His Wife

A food fight erupted aboard a plane when a passenger became outraged after believing someone was flirting with his wife. The passenger was subsequently forced to disembark after throwing food at fellow travellers.

In a video posted on 12 January by Instagram user mikeandbo, the incident aboard a Southwest Airlines flight has since circulated widely on social media. The footage shows a flight attendant confronting a muscular man in a grey shirt, telling him to leave the aircraft regardless of his justifications.

Confrontation Escalates

'There's no excuse, so I'm telling you to get off,' the flight attendant says. 'Everyone wants you off, dude,' one passenger comments in an effort to expedite the man's removal from the plane.

The man in the grey shirt turns to the other passengers and asks: 'You want to chime in guys?' He becomes visibly enraged, continuing: 'So if your wife's over there talking to another dude, man, you're just gonna sit there and take it like a little bitch? You feel like you can talk to me, is that fair?' The man then collects a takeaway order, including a small pizza box, while yelling: 'You're running your fucking mouth, motherfucker!'

The person filming appears to escalate tensions by suddenly offering 'a dollar for a slice'. 'Put your fucking phone down you douchebag,' the angry passenger responds. 'Are you like 80? You're still fucking filming people? Don't make me throw my food at you.'

The man then follows through on his threat, throwing the plastic bag of takeaway at the cameraman before gesturing that he will hurl his pizza as well. He is later escorted off the plane, with the remaining passengers applauding the action taken by authorities. The cameraman continues to joke: 'French fries, anyone?'

Woman and Her Two Dogs Forced Off Separate Flight

In a separate incident, TMZ reported that a woman was forced to disembark from her Spirit Airlines flight bound for Florida, along with her two dogs. The incident occurred at the Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

The passenger became involved in a heated argument with flight staff, likely regarding her seat and the overhead compartment number. The confrontation escalated before security officers arrived to remove her from the plane in handcuffs and escort her to the tarmac, while another staff member brought out the woman's dogs.

Sources told the outlet that the woman had been 'acting crazy' and 'yelling f-bombs' and that she had been ordering flight attendants around. The plane departed shortly after the confrontation and eventually reached its destination, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

'Law enforcement was requested and we removed a disruptive passenger...We do not tolerate disruptive behaviour of any kind and this passenger is no longer welcome on any or all of our flights,' Spirit Airlines told TMZ following the incident.

Rising Trend in Aviation Disruptions

The two incidents are part of a wider pattern of disruptions taking place on planes all over the world. The International Air Transport Association cites data from 2022 and 2023: One disruptive incident for every 568 flights in 2022, and one for every 480 flights in 2023, showing increased instances of unruly or disruptive passengers on planes. The data from the IATA compiles over 24,500 incident reports from over 50 airline operators all over the world.

From the over 24,500 incident reports, non-compliance with flight crew instructions was the most cited offence in 2023, even as there was also an increase in verbal and physical abuse from passengers that same year.

According to the US Federal Aviation Administration, there was a 60 per cent drop in such incidents after an enforcement campaign in 2021. This showed how strong steps in deterring unruly behaviour can reduce such incidents. Since the campaign, airlines and authorities have continued to stress that while those incidents are caused by a small portion of passengers, they can still heavily impact operations and put the safety of the crew and passengers at risk.