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A woman was arrested and a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines was hospitalized after a violent altercation at the airport in Dallas Love Field on Saturday, authorities said.
A passenger attacked “verbal and physically ”to a Southwest Airlines employee during the boarding process for the Southwest Flight 4976 departing from Dallas at New York La Guardia airport, an airline spokesperson said.
Dallas police said the passenger, Arielle Jean Jackson, by 32 years old, boarded and had a “verbal altercation” with a flight attendant in the back of the plane. The flight attendant ordered him to leave the plane, per NBCDFW.
Jackson then went to the front of the plane, where he confronted a second flight attendant, whom he hit “with a closed fist on the head,” police said.
Dallas police arrested the passenger, who faces a charge of aggravated battery.
The victim, whom Southwest Airlines identified only as an operations agent, she was taken to a local hospital and is in stable condition, police said.
“We have a Manager Station with her at the hospital with the full support of her Southwest Family sending our thoughts, prayers and love, ”an airline spokesperson said in a statement. “Southwest Airlines maintains a zero tolerance policy regarding any type of harassment or assault and we fully support our Employee as we cooperate with local authorities regarding this unacceptable incident.”
The incident marks an escalation in the rebellious behavior of airline passengers that is affecting the service in the United States.
Since the end of the year 2020 crews have faced violence on all routes and airports in the United States which has forced the unions of flight attendants to request the Department of Justice to investigate and punish the most serious cases .
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