Footage of a United Airlines passenger's profanity-laden outburst after her flight was delayed during the US government shutdown has gone viral on TikTok. The incident occurred on the tarmac at Newark Liberty International Airport and ended with the woman being removed from the plane.
The video, posted on November 10, shows the blonde passenger leaving her window seat and confronting a flight attendant. 'I'm getting up. I'm allowed to stand. When you keep us on the tarmac for an hour, I'm allowed to stand up,' she rants. The flight attendant calmly responds that it is 'not a problem,' but the passenger continues to swear, using the C-word repeatedly.
The TikToker who recorded the video explained that the flight to Charleston, South Carolina, had already been delayed for three hours before boarding, and then held on the tarmac for over an hour. 'Everyone's just over it. You can feel the collective exhaustion,' she said. Another passenger tried to calm the irate woman by saying, 'We all have somewhere to be, my mom's funeral is tomorrow,' but the comment did not help, and she was eventually escorted off the plane.
The TikToker praised the flight attendants, calling them 'actual angels' for helping everyone stay calm. The video was posted during the US government shutdown, which ended on November 13, when the Federal Aviation Administration cut flights at major airports and air traffic controllers worked without pay. The day before the video was posted, November 9, saw more than 11,000 delays and nearly 3,000 cancellations nationwide.
