The pandemic really has brought out both the best and the worst in people. Unfortunately, in the last few years, I’ve posted about more passenger fights than ever. Here are just a few: incident 1 | incident 2 | incident 3.
At this point, I guess it’s not surprising to see the latest viral video of a passenger and a United Airlines agent fighting like they’re in a UFC Octagon ring. If you haven’t seen the video already, you will as it has been shared over 10 million times already. That’s how shocking it is.
The main video, which is being shared the most, just shows a United Airline agent slapping a passenger at check-in. But after reading the comments, I saw that someone else uploaded an earlier version of the ruckus, which shows the passenger hitting the United employee first. I’m embedding that one first but definitely watch them both.
Not that either are in the right, but here’s how it started before this pic.twitter.com/wxrpSCxYWa
— HHBigBoss (@HHBigBoss) May 23, 2022
Nah it’s too early ?????♂️ pic.twitter.com/j42G1XqJhH
— Nasa (@DMNTnasa) May 22, 2022
However, we still don’t know when or where this took place and what caused the fight or who instigated it. But one thing is for sure: This incident doesn’t portray United or the United States in a positive light.
UPDATE (May 24): We now know more details and they aren’t pretty. According to ABC News, the incident happened on May 19 at Newark Airport and it all started when the United Airlines contract employee asked the passenger for the wheelchair he was using as a luggage cart. That’s right. The traveler was using a wheelchair as a luggage cart, which right there deserves a good ass beating.
It turns out the passenger is Brendan Langley, 27, a former NFL player and current CFL (Canadian Football League) player. Langley played for the Denver Broncos in 2017 and was on the practice squad of the Seattle Seahawks.
Langley was arrested for simple assault and is now in Canada. His team, the Calgary Stampeders, issued a statement that they are investigating the incident but my guess is Langley’s days are numbered.
The employee’s name hasn’t been released but he’s been fired.
There is a common thread here that I just can’t put my finger on…..
The attacker, Langley, belongs in jail and the employee deserves a promotion and a raise.
It seems from the video’s that the United employee was absolutely right in asking for the wheelchair. IT’S NOT A LUGGAGE CART. As a football player he is too hard up to rent a luggage cart if he cant transport his own luggage. So that’s the response from United, rather than issue a statement saying it was wrong for someone to use a wheelchair as a luggage cart, they fire him!!!
May not have been the best advert for United to have a brawling employee, but then it might have bought attention in a way that at least they were trying to stand up for what is right. What should he have done, just ignored it and turned the other way, not said anything, like most of their employees would have done? Good advert for the rest of the staff. Do you think anyone is going to approach another passenger, when they see anything like this again, like hell?
I can’t really fault the airline employee for defending himself. I’m guessing most of these workers have had it up to here with rude passengers! Firing him was too harsh.
Using a wheelchair as a luggage cart? Sense of entitlement ya think? Still the airline customer service agent is not the manners police and his over reaction is just cause for his dismissal.
I simply don’t understand why airlines and the FAA don’t use the simplest solution. Anyone using violence on an airplane or airport. Is put on the no fly zone. The solution is already in place. TSA has a no fly registry. All the airlines have to do is notify TSA easy peasy. I can guarantee if a person knew they could never fly again it would reign in their temper. If it doesn’t they don’t deserve to fly and effect everyone else with their ignorant behavior.
united was wrong to fire their employee !
Guess what I don’t know is what the words were that were exchanged prior to the physical altercation. No idea about the use of the wheel chair for luggage, e.g. momentary, no luggage carts available? As for Mr. Langley being a pro football player, it’s totally irrelevant. If someone is assuming pro football player = aggressive off the field, absolutely not true. I consulted with NFLPA for number of years and knew many, many players – aggressive on field but off not necessarily.
And another reason to never, ever fly with America’s worst airline. They are like the Wells Fargo of the airline industry. But then again, what company actually stands behind their employees when needed?
UNITED ought to re-think the cashiering of this Employee.
Unable to Imagine what this ‘knee-jerk’ reaction (from “Management”) shall do for “Morale” of the loyal, dedicated Support Personnel of the once
solid, conservative,well-led and *Quality* Assured: UNITED AIRLINES.