An American Airlines flight was reportedly delayed after a “disgruntled” passenger loudly passed gas and was removed from the plane.
In a viral Reddit post shared to the r/Austin subreddit, user u/Glamgalatx detailed their recent American Airlines flight from Phoenix, Arizona, to Austin, Texas. According to the Reddit user, the incident took place on Sunday 14 January.
“This past Sunday I was on a direct American flight from Phoenix to Austin and I was seated near the row where this situation occurred. I’m simply sharing this because it’s somewhat entertaining, and no I did not film anything,” they began the post, which has been upvoted 916 times since it was shared last week.
The Reddit user explained that they were boarding their flight when they noticed a man who was “audibly disgruntled” or “maybe hungover” and was grumbling about something under his breath. After several minutes passed and the majority of passengers had boarded the plane, the original poster [OP] overheard the man loudly say, “You thought that was rude? Well how about this smell,” and passed gas.
“I don’t know what provoked that comment, and while kind of funny to overhear, it was uncalled for especially coming from a grown man on an airplane nonetheless,” they wrote. However, the man’s bizarre behaviour didn’t end there.
As fellow passengers began unpacking snacks and eating food, the same man who had just passed gas decided to loudly announce to the rest of the plane: “Yeah, everybody. Let’s just eat the smelliest food possible all at the same time.” At that moment, one person in a separate aisle replied to the man: “If you don’t like it you can fly private.” When the man called the retort “so f***ing rude,” another passenger chimed in: “I think we’d all agree you’re the rude one here.”
According to the Reddit user, the spat caused the flight – which was moving toward the runway for takeoff – to stop and return to the gate. Flight crew ultimately stepped in, making the announcement over the loudspeaker: “Apologies for the interruption, but we are returning to the gate. We will give you more info when we have it.”
A female flight attendant then approached the flatulent man and informed him that he would not be staying on the flight. He told the attendant that he didn’t understand why he was being removed from the plane, but she told him that they will discuss why once they disembarked the plane.
“He gets up, grabs his bag, and quietly exits the plane. We all breathed a sigh of relief when he was removed; I think most people were on edge about what he may say or do next,” the Reddit user said. “The trip was only delayed by 15-30 minutes, so all in all I think American [Airlines] handled it swiftly.”
Unsurprisingly, the “entertaining” American Airlines experience prompted a flurry of comments from fellow Reddit users making gas-related jokes. “Maybe another flight was low on gas?” one person commented, while someone else pointed out: “He missed an opportunity to fart on the way out and yell, ‘SMELL YOU LATER!’”
The Independent has contacted American Airlines for comment.