If you’re a frequent flier, you’ve likely got your pre-takeoff routine down pat. You’ll find your seat, claim your armrest, and listen to the attendant’s safety demonstrations. While some flights might offer pre-flight beverage service, it’s typically not a given — or so you’d think.
An unidentified man was allegedly removed from a recent American Airlines flight over a request for a pre-flight Gin & Tonic that devolved into an argument, as seen in a now-viral clip. The video has been reposted to multiple social media platforms from TikTok (where the original footage appears to have been deleted) and portrays the unruly passenger allegedly refusing to leave the plane at the request of airline personnel.
Details are still emerging, but the video’s caption on Reddit’s r/PublicFreakout suggests the verbal altercation started after flight attendants refused to serve the man a cocktail before the plane’s takeoff. (It’s unclear why the passenger wasn’t served, but it’s worth noting that in-flight booze service across the board is entirely up to the flight crew’s discretion and flight schedule — no matter how good a stiff cocktail at 38,000 feet may sound.) The video, which lasts just over five minutes, shows personnel repeatedly asking the man to leave the stalled plane as he verbally refuses and argues with attendants, even after his luggage is wheeled off the flight. The man was eventually physically removed from the plane by law enforcement to the tune of stifled laughter from onlooking passengers.
The Federal Aviation Administration enforces a zero-tolerance policy on “unruly behavior,” which allows pilots to dismiss any non-compliant passengers from a flight.
