It’s not uncommon to see “Karens” at airports, but in these kinds of viral clips, the workers usually remain stoic. It’s rare to see a worker lose their temper, but for one Spirit Airlines employee, it looks like enough was enough.
TikToker @sightssoundsflavors captured the confrontation between a Spirit employee and a passenger in a video that has garnered over 6.3 million views and 280,000 likes since it was posted on Tuesday. According to the video’s geotag, the interaction occurred at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“All right, so this Spirit employee was very offended because this lady said something rude to her,” the TikToker narrated. “I think she’s taking it a little too far, though. I think she’s gonna prevent her from being on the plane, which I think is a little bit of an abuse [of power].”
The TikToker’s commentary was interrupted by the worker demanding to see the passenger’s boarding pass before appearing to write its details down. This led to the passenger asserting, “I will not miss my flight because of this,” as the TikToker recording said the situation felt “a little too extreme.”
But the most shocking part is what happened next, as the worker said to the customer, “F*ck you too.”
After gasping in horror, the TikToker asked the passenger, “What did you say to her? She’s very upset.” The woman simply smiled and walked away.
In a lengthy caption, the man filming gave his verdict, saying that while “the passenger definitely started it, the airline employee lost the moral high ground when she confronted the passenger for a second time.”
The man wasn’t the only one who disagreed with the Spirit employee. Numerous commenters argued that even if the customer was in the wrong, the worker’s behavior was unprofessional. As one commenter wrote, “I don’t know the situation, but when you’re working, you can never lose it like this even if you want to.”
@sightssoundsflavors Things you see when you travel as much as I do. The passenger definitely started it, but the airline employee lost the moral highground when she confronted the passenger for a second time. Initially she told her from the side taht she had a filthy mouth and embarrassed the passenger in front of 5-10 people. The passenger walked away and just kind of took it. The airline employee then came back and in a way wouldn’t let the passenger walk away. This is a very bad look for #spiritairlines but what do I know 🤷♂️ I get passengers can be VERY rude but 99% of the people who saw this weren’t privvy to what tbe passenger may have initially said. I know I wasn’t till after the second encounter when the airline employee said the F-word followed by “too.” #sightssoundsflavors #airport #flying #fortlauderdaleairport #fllairport #hollywoodairport #flightattendant #rudepassenger #boardingpass #cantwalkaway #airline #airlines #viral #trending #foryou #4u #fyp #parati #omg #savetiktok #strengthaddicts #fl #fortlauderdale #hollywoodfl #bullying #payback #abuseofpower ♬ original sound – SightsSoundsFlavors.com
Yet, other commenters were more concerned with the person filming the video. One amused viewer noted that they “loved” how the man was immersing himself in the “messiness” of the drama. “This how nosy I am,” another admitted.
But did the TikToker get too involved? Some might say that posting a separate commentary video on YouTube was a step too far, but the man defended his actions in the caption, writing, “I saw something that I thought needed to be documented so I documented it. At the end of the day, I take being a journalist extremely seriously.”
The creator didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via Instagram direct message.
This isn’t the first time Spirit Airlines employees have sparked debate on TikTok. In February, influencer Stei (@hueyets) said Spirit employees called the police on him for trying to collect hotel vouchers, sparking outrage and accusations of racial profiling.
A media relations representative for Spirit didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.
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