Southwest Airlines was already having terrible years end after a massive winter storm forced it to make flight cancellations that far outpaced those of industry rivals. Then, somehow, the PR nightmare got even worse.
At Nashville International Airport on Christmas night, a police officer threatened to arrest stranded Southwest passengers if they didnt leave a secure area of the airport. A video of the incident went viral across social media after being posted by a passenger to TikTok.
In the video, which has been viewed over 900,000 times since being posted two days ago, the officer warned passengers they must leave the area or theyd be arrested for trespassing.
Right now, he continued. Everybody to the unsecured side. The ticket counter will help you with any questions you have.
Shelley Morrison, who was among the passengers with her three daughters, had been in line at a Southwest gate hoping to get more information about what was happening with her flight, according to the Tenneseean.
After she and others waited for nearly an hour to get clarification, one of the workers announced over the intercom that she was leavingand calling security. Nobody told the passengers they had to leave if they had a canceled ticket, Morrison told the local paper.
Two police officers from the airports public safety department soon arrived on the scene, which is when Morrisons daughter, Amani Robinson, started recording a video.
An officer told passengers in the video, If you have no ticket, you dont need to be on the secured side. In response to someone saying they did have tickets, he replied, Your tickets just got canceled.
Morrison asked the officer again about potential arrest, to which he reiterated, If you dont have a valid ticket and youre on the secured side and refuse to leave, you will be arrestedRight now, Southwest is calling us because you guys are congregating right here, and theyre trying to close that gate.
If your ticket is canceled, he added, you no longer have a ticket. You understand that, right?
The officer grew more impatient as Morrison tried again to make the legal connection, as she said in the video, telling him shes an attorney.
Are you refusing to leave the secured side? he asked pointedly.
No, Im not refusing to leave, she replied. Im asking for additional information. Can you cite the statue for me?
Its airport and aircraft security, he replied.
You dont have a section? she asked.
I dont need to give you the code. If youre an attorney, you can look it up.
Morrison thanked him and proceeded with others to where he indicated.
Fortune reached out to Southwest Airlines, the Nashville International Airport, and the Department of Transportation about the airport incident but received no immediate replies.
Southwest passengers who tried to find alternative routes faced jacked-up prices from other airlines, some of whichfaced with public backlashannounced price caps on affected routes.
The Department of Transportation said this week it will open a probe into Southwest Airlines. It wrote in a tweet that it was concerned by Southwests unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service. The Department will examine whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.
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