Screaming “don’t touch me, don't touch me...you ripped my pants off!”, a female passenger made a defiant stand against male police officers who physically dragged her off a Southwest Airlines flight after she complained of life-threatening dog allergies.
The woman was forcibly removed from the flight after she claimed to airline staff to have a life-threatening pet allergy but refused to leave the plane, causing a flight delay.
“I’m sorry, my dad has a surgery! What are you doing?” she screamed at airport security. To which one security officer said: “Lady, let’s go,” while another officer grabbed her. "I can't walk, he's got my leg," the woman screamed.
The Youtube video, which has clocked half a million hits, states that the woman had notified Southwest staff of her allergy after seeing two dogs — one a pet and the other a service animal — on the flight with her.
The incident took place on Tuesday night (September 26) at Baltimore airport. The clip was posted to Youtube on Wednesday.
The Southwest flight was due to fly from Baltimore to Los Angeles. After the woman refused the crew's request to leave the plane, police were called to intervene.
The dogs were allowed to fly.
Another passenger, a film producer, recorded the ensuing struggle between the woman and officers and posted it online.
Dog allergy
It emerged that the woman was unable to provide proof that she could fly safely with the animals.
Southwest said their policy states that "a customer (without a medical certificate) may be denied boarding if they report a life-threatening allergic reaction and cannot travel safely with an animal onboard."
Airline staff asked her to exit the plane multiple times, but she refused. Police officers were called to the plane and removed her despite her objection.
In April, security officers yanked a man out of his seat of a United in Chicago and knocked off his two front teeth in the process, sparking a public outcry about shoddy treatment of airline passengers.
