It appeared to start as a swat of the hand. Then a man threw a punch at another man, leaning from the aisle of a Southwest Airlines plane and into a row of seats near the plane windows. You can see the confrontation in a video posted here.
They continued fighting until others on the plane broke them apart. There was yelling, someone saying “take it easy” and stressed expressions on the faces of nearby passengers. A man in a blue sweatshirt can be seen trying to calm down the man who the first punch.
“We commend our crew and customers for their professionalism in diffusing this situation,” said a statement Southwest provided to Newsweek. “Our number one priority is the safety and well-being of our customers and employees. The flight landed safely at its scheduled destination and local authorities met the aircraft upon arrival.”
According to Hawaii News Now, witnesses said both men were detained after the flight from Oakland, Calif., landed in Kaui, Hawaii, though it is not clear if either man has been charged. Per the outlet, what set off the altercation is also unclear.
“I heard yelling, screaming and punches. I turned around and saw one man bleeding and then the other man being separated,” explained Southwest Passenger Jim Wieder. He said the situation made him nervous, since the men were swinging at each other at 35,000 feet in the air.
Concerns about flight safety have increased this year with reports of issues related to Boeing 737 airplanes, including an incident where a door flew off mid-flight. Audacy reported last week on continuing investigations into Boeing’s aircraft.
Reports of unruly passengers have also increased in recent years, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. These reports hit a record peak of nearly 6,000 in 2021 and decreased to little over 2,000 annually in 2022 and 2023 – still high above the pre-pandemic average.
So far this year, the FAA has already reported more than 200 unruly passenger incidents.
“The rate of unruly passenger incidents steadily dropped by over 80 percent since record highs in early 2021, but recent increases show there remains more work to do,” said the administration.