'Why is the baby yelling?': Man's temper tantrum over crying baby on Southwest flight to Florida goes viral
ORLANDO, Fla. - A grown man's profanity-laced temper tantrum over a crying baby aboard a Southwest flight to Florida has gone viral after portions of the minutes-long rant were recorded and posted on TikTok.
According to Mark Grabowski, a passenger who was on the flight and recorded the video, the plane was headed to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Monday but was delayed in the air for about an hour due to weather. It was eventually diverted to Orlando International Airport (MCO).
"It was a little bumpy and uncomfortable for everyone and the child was upset, but we couldn't get up because of the weather, and we were strapped in our seats," said Mark Grabowski in an interview with FOX 35.
"Just out of nowhere this other passenger in the video basically said shut that baby up, and it escalated from there," he said, adding that Southwest's flight attendants were quick to act and moved a woman and the baby to another part of the plane.
"Can you calm the child down, please? I had headphones on. I was sleeping," the man pleads with members of Southwest's flight attendants.
"Why is the baby yelling? I'm not screaming. Want me to scream? I'll [expletive] scream. Please stop the baby," the man can be heard saying in the video.
"We are in a [expletive] tin can with a baby in a [expletive] echo chamber. If you want to talk to me about being [expletive] OK," the man says in another video clip.
"We are not in Florida yet, you cannot do what the [expletive] you feel like," he says in another moment.
At various points, Southwest's crew attempted to talk with the man to calm him down, before one flight attendant eventually instructs another to contact the authorities.
Southwest Airlines declined to comment on specifics about the situation but commended its crew for dealing with the situation.
"We commend our crew for exhibiting outstanding professionalism while handling a challenging situation, and we offer our apologies to the other customers onboard who had to experience such unacceptable behavior," the airline said.
A spokesperson for Orlando International Airport said it was aware of the situation, but deferred to Southwest. Orlando police confirmed that its officers escorted the man off the plane and that no arrests were made.
Grabowski said Southwest's crew gave the man two options when the plane landed in Orlando – get off the plane, or they would let everyone else off and forcibly remove him at the end.
"He chose the latter, and we all got off the plane and there was a lot of mumbling past him, he said.
"I don't really know what everyone is going through, but it doesn't portray him in good light, but maybe he is going through something and we gotta give everyone a little sympathy," he said.