A woman on a Spirt Airlines flight to Fort Lauderdale was walked off by police after lighting up a cigarette on the tarmac, drawing scorn from fellow passengers early Tuesday.
The unnamed woman pulled out a cigarette after the plane took more than an hour to make its way to the terminal after it arrived at the Florida airport from Detroit. It is not clear why it took that long to taxi.
Alexa Majdalawi, 31, who was sitting behind her and has asthma, said to Fox News: 'She literally took out a cigarette and just started smoking.'
Majdalawi said the woman 'turned around' and blew it in her face.
An unidentified woman was caught smoking on a Spirit Airlines flight to Fort Lauderdale and was walked off the plane by police. She was not arrested
She complained to the flight crew, who reportedly told her she could move to the back of the plane. She began filming once the police arrived.
In the video, the police officer can be seen trying to wake the woman who, at that point, appears to be sleeping. One passenger accused the woman of 'acting dead.'
The police officer then asks the woman if she has a bag and starts opening the overhead compartments to look for it.
The woman responds to the officers, but it is unintelligible.
'Come on, let's go. Do you have a bag?" he says, before opening several overhead compartments and not finding the woman's belongings.
She supposedly lit up a cigarette on the tarmac as the plane took more than an hour to reach the terminal and blew it in another passenger's face
Another passenger, who is also recording the interaction with police, says: 'She might not even got no bags. Hey, she might not even got no bags, she's f**king with y'all. Her bags are under the plane, man. Take her off.'
The same passenger earlier had exclaimed the woman had 'f**ked up the flight.'
The police responds: 'I know y'all don't believe this, but we can actually do this without your assistance.'
Daily Mail requested a comment from Spirit Airlines but did not hear back before publication
The woman is seen calmly leaving her seat and following officers off the flight. She was not arrested.
In a statement, Broward Sheriff’s Office said: 'Shortly after 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 24, Broward Sheriff’s Office Airport District deputies responded to a disturbance on a Spirit Airlines flight at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. On scene, deputies met with Spirit Airlines employees and were advised that they wanted a female passenger removed from the plane for smoking. Deputies made contact with the female passenger who complied with the request, and no arrest was made.'
Daily Mail reached out to Spirit Airlines for a comment, but didn't hear back before the time of publication.
Since airlines have returned to the skies since the beginning of the pandemic, many are reporting unruly customers and are being asked to limit booze on flights.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the number of unruly passengers was up to 1,300 in 2021 from 100 passengers in 2020, despite fewer travelers compared to pre-pandemic levels.
FAA administrator Steve Dickson said alcohol sales have something to do with the increase in bad behavior.
'Even though FAA regulations specifically prohibit the consumption of alcohol aboard an aircraft that is not served by the airline, we have received reports that some airport concessionaires have offered alcohol 'to go,' and passengers believe they can carry that alcohol onto their flights or they become inebriated during the boarding process,' Dickson said in a letter to airport managers.
In March, he extended the FAA's unruly-passenger zero-tolerance policy, which mandates that the FAA take legal action against any passenger 'who assaults, threatens, intimidates, or interferes with airline crew members'.
In an August 19 press release, the FAA reported that it has fined more than $1million unruly customers. The FAA received 3,889 reports of unruly behavior and 2,867 reports of passengers not following the federal mask mandate currently in place for all airlines.
It does not hold the power to press charges against customers, but can fine them.
On a March 24 flight to Orlando, Florida, the administration fined a JetBlue passenger $45,000 for 'allegedly throwing objects, including his carry-on luggage, at other passengers; refusing to stay seated; lying on the floor in the aisle, refusing to get up, and then grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and putting his head up her skirt.'
A Southwest passenger was fined $32,000 for threatening violent crimes that he told his 'travel partner he would need to bail him out of jail' and assaulting passengers in his row after they refused to change seats to accommodate the man's companion.
The FAA currently has a zero-tolerance policy in place for unruly and destructive behavior toward airline crew.
One passenger accused the woman of 'acting dead' after she supposedly pretended to be asleep when police arrived on the flight
The police officer attempted to locate the woman's bag and she ultimately departed the plane without one
