Southwest tantrum at Texas airport goes TikTok viral
In addition to flight delays, cancellations and reportedly a ticketing system crash, hundreds of passengers wait in line to handle baggage damage issues with Southwest Airlines at Thurgood Marshall Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Baltimore, Maryland on December 27, 2022. ( Photo by Marvin Joseph/Washington Post via Getty Images)
The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty ImA viral TikTok captured a woman throwing a “tantrum” and yelling at a Southwest Airlines employee at a Texas airport. TikTok user @ppvtahoe posted the video last weekend, revealing just how chaotic it’s been at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport since the airline madness began.
Last weekend, CNBC reported that nearly 12,000 flights were canceled by US airlines from December 21 to Saturday, December 24 due to a brutal winter storm. While most airlines resumed regular operations on Monday, Dec. 26, Southwest has faced some problems. FlightAware, a flight tracking website, reported that 165 Southwest flights were canceled in AUS on Monday with another 121 canceled on Tuesday, December 27.
In a TikTok posted by @ppvtahoe, he called the experience a “Bergstrom meltdown tantrum.” It showed a woman yelling at a Southwest employee to return her luggage because she had a connecting flight. She got in the employee’s face and kept yelling that she needed her things.
According to NPR, Southwest’s cancellations and disruptions left people stranded at airports across the country, many with little idea when they could get home or where their bags were. With the chaos happening across the country, many people have been posting videos of what they are seeing at airports.
The TikTok clip of Austin’s outburst received 3.6 million views and over 277,000 likes, as well as nearly 24,000 comments — many of which are appalled by the way the woman was acting toward Southwest employees.
“What’s wrong with people,” Morgan commented.
“There needs to be an in-depth documentary on all these airport/airplane explosions, including the consequences of being on the no-fly list,” noted Jake M.
Many of the comments also noted how Southwest employees handled the situation so well, as they did not react negatively to the screaming customer. One person even asked the million dollar question: “Where is airport security?”
Below is the TikTok of the outrage (beware of strong language):
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