A Delta flight attendant reportedly kicked 5 passengers off of a plane after an argument over airplane mode
- A Delta Air Lines partner, SkyWest Airlines, removed five passengers from a flight departing from Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Wednesday, USA Today reported.
- The removal stemmed from an argument that one passenger, Robyn Rodgers, reportedly had with a flight attendant over whether her phone was in airplane mode prior to takeoff.
- Rodgers posted videos of the argument to Instagram, along with videos of the passengers who had been stranded at the Fort Wayne airport.
A Delta Air Lines partnership airline removed five passengers from a flight set to depart from Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Wednesday, according to USA Today.
The removal was reportedly the result of an argument that one passenger, Robyn Rodgers, had with a flight attendant over whether her phone was in airplane mode prior to takeoff. The flight was operated by SkyWest Airlines, which operates in partnership with Delta under its Delta Connections umbrella.
Rodgers documented her argument with a SkyWest Airlines flight attendant in a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday night.
"I'm not going to argue with you," the flight attendant can be heard saying. "Crew instructions means crew instructions. You were asked several times during the announcement to turn your phone into airplane mode."
Rodgers appears confused in the video, insisting that she immediately complied with the request.
At one point, a man's voice can be heard coming to Rodgers' defense.
"She was complying! I was right here actually, right behind her."
The flight attendant replies: "Would you like to stay, too? Everybody with attitude is going right off. I have zero tolerance."
Rodgers was ejected from the flight after the plane had returned to the gate. According to USA Today, four other passengers who spoke up in defense of Rodgers, including a man with a child, were also removed from the flight.
In another Instagram video, Rodgers narrates while speaking to an airline agent.
"So Delta Airlines just kicked about four of us off a flight, including a man and his child, because a flight attendant didn't like what we had to say. They will not put anybody up in a hotel and we will have to spend the night," she says in the video.
SkyWest did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment.
A Delta spokesperson told Business Insider: "When the passengers were removed from their flight, we worked to reaccomodate them on a future flight."
A SkyWest spokeswoman issued a statement to CBS46: "We take all allegations of discrimination seriously and are reviewing reports from SkyWest flight 4527 operating as Delta Connection. We are disappointed that our customers had this experience and are working with our partner Delta to follow up directly with the customers involved."
Rodgers posted a follow-up message on Instagram on Thursday morning
"Fun fact: I still have not heard from @delta directly at all but they have been responding to people on Twitter seemingly trying to clean up this mess from a PR perspective but I have no messages and no one from Delta has contacted me," she said.