Airport gate attendant, passenger come to blows
lunged forward and threw a jab into the man’s face. People gasped. Cell phone cameras It’s unclear what happened recorded the exact moment to the worker. Both on Saturday when more he and the man he’d than 100 cranky and exhausted punched were escorted passengers of away by airport security easyJet flight 2122 lost what guards. was left of their patience. It It was not clear if the was 10:17 p.m. in Terminal man was hurt, but that moment 2 of the Nice Côte d’Azur International epitomized how the Airport in patience of passengers is southern France. tested at every turn, from
In an instant, the malfunctioning ticket kiosks stressed-out travelers to painfully slow lines seemed to embody the at security to cramped seats world’s collective frustration in coach. On Saturday, it with the state of air was another frustration of travel, banding together at air travel — a delayed flight the departure gate to voice — that caused the easyJet their anger over still waiting passengers to lose it. for their flight, which That flight has a 61 percent was scheduled to depart for on-time performance London at 10:35 a.m. record, according to the
“Why are you smiling?” website FlightStats. a female passenger yelled at Ms. Arkwright, who a gate attendant, according posted a photo of the employee to a video of the episode punching the man, published by The Sun. said the passengers were allowed “This is a disgrace. We to board the flight have children, babies.” but were held on it for two
“Babies!” another hours because of a mishap woman interjected. during refueling.
In the background, a They were allowed to return man moved toward the attendant to the terminal, she at the gate and, said, but without adequate while holding a child in seating or food. About 12 his left hand, tried to snap hours after the plane was a photo of the attendant supposed to depart, frustrations with his other hand. The boiled over, and employee swiftly slapped that is when Ms. Arkwright the cell phone to the floor. and her husband,
The man retaliated, Johnnie, said they saw the shoving his hand into the man and his wife confront attendant’s shoulder and the attendant. then his face — “like he was Ms. Arkwright said she protecting the baby,” as was still incensed at Arabella Arkwright, another easyJet. Even though the passenger, told The employee wasn’t on the Washington Post. The attendant, airline’s payroll, he was regaining his footing, still interacting with The New York Times easyJet’s customers. And, she said, company managers were nowhere to be seen as the customer service problems mounted all day.
“These airlines treat people so badly,” Ms. Arkwright, who lives in Warwickshire, in central England, said in an interview on Monday. “You’re this little minnow fighting against this ruddy great shark.”
Ms. Arkwright wrote an open letter to easyJet’s chief executive, Carolyn McCall, in which she asked for answers about what happened.
“I request that you — not some lackey — write personally to every person on this flight with a full explanation,” she wrote. “I should hardly need to tell you that customers should be treated with respect, not disdain.”
She said that she hoped the episode would help improve customer service.
EasyJet apologized and said the gate agent was not an airline employee. “We are concerned to see this — it is not an easyJet staff member & they do not work for our ground handling agents,” the airline said on Twitter.
The airport said in a statement on Facebook that the police were investigating. “Whatever the circumstances, the airport management firmly condemns this incident and has immediately asked that this staff member be suspended,” the airport said.