A passenger at Denver International Airport was removed by security after a confrontation at a Southwest Airlines gate that was recorded [1] and shared widely online.
The incident occurred Friday and was posted on TikTok by user Taylor Graboyes, who filmed the exchange between the woman and airline employees.
The video showed the passenger yelling at gate agents after learning that the flight was delayed and that she would not be able to board because the flight was full.
The woman, who has not been identified, could be heard shouting questions at staff while holding her phone up as if recording the exchange.
“Do you guys feel safe?” she yelled during the confrontation.
She continued to direct questions at the gate agent.
“How dare you treat me this way?” she said, raising her voice repeatedly as she questioned why the flight had not begun boarding.
At one point, she asked, “Who are you? Why is our plane late?”
She also mocked the employee for “shaking” as the discussion continued.
The passenger then asked, “Why are not we boarding?”
The phrasing drew attention from viewers online. Commenters on the TikTok video remarked on the wording, with some making light of it and noting that it sounded unusual.
Graboyes’ video included the passenger’s continued demands, including her statement that someone should “come and get [her] fired.”
She also said she intended to sue the employee.
The situation began after the flight was delayed and the woman was then told she would not be boarding because the flight was full.
Airlines sometimes oversell seats based on expected no-shows, and passengers may be denied boarding when all seats are taken.
The passenger objected to the decision. “You tell me I cannot board now? Because I questioned why it is late,” she said.
@unacceptabletay [2] literally what is wrong w ppl lol #airport [3] #dia [4] ♬ original sound – tay ⋆⭒˚.⋆ [5]
Witnesses in the comments on the video said the exchange continued until airport security arrived.
According to Graboyes, it took approximately 30 minutes before security personnel reached the gate and escorted the passenger away. Other passengers in the terminal cheered as she was led out.
Graboyes wrote in the comments that she checked on the gate employee afterward.
She said the worker was visibly upset and had been crying following the encounter. “She had tears in her eyes when I went over to check on her afterwards I felt so bad,” she wrote.
Viewers online responded with criticism of the passenger’s behavior.
“Has this lady never experienced a delay of any sort?” one commenter wrote.
Another said, “If there is one place on this entire planet to behave it’s the damn airport.”
Others remarked on rules related to disruptive behavior during air travel, asking whether some travelers believe that consequences such as the no-fly list are not real.