Man snatches woman’s phone and tries to make a call as he’s being kicked off flight

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts

Get Simon Calder’s Travel email

A man snatched a woman’s phone out of her hand and walked down the plane aisle with it as he was being removed from a recent flight.

Footage of the unnamed passenger shared online shows him walk past the woman on his way towards the front of the plane before grabbing her mobile and attempting to use it.

The incident occurred on a Southwest Airlines flight, with X/Twitter user @Sh3vin13 uploading a video to the social media platform on 21 October, alongside the caption: “Chaos on @SouthwestAir!!! Guy grabs woman phone and proceeds to make a phone call while getting kicked off!”

In the clip, the outraged woman can heard shouting, “Give me my phone”, before getting up and following the man down the aisle.

She then attempts to wrestle the phone from him as he holds the device out of reach, but after a few moments manages to grab it back.

The man is seen exiting the plane, escorted by a member of crew, following the incident.

It’s unclear from the footage whether he knew the woman or whether they were complete strangers.

The Independent has approached Southwest Airlines for comment.

It’s not the first time a traveller has been removed from a flight after behaving erratically.

In September 2022, a video showing an Australian police escorting a passenger off a flight for lighting a cigarette on the plane went viral.

Sinead Merrett posted the clip to video platform TikTok, saying “This guys thinks a delayed flight means he can light a dart on the plane. No Bali vacay for you now.”

When commenters seemed confused, she clarified: “Lighting a dart is Aussie slang for lighting a cigarette.”

The Jetstar plane, bound for Bali, was delayed on the runway at Melbourne’s airport for over four hours, according to passengers.