Passenger Left ‘Humiliated’ by Delta Flight Attendants, Reason Sparks Fury

A Delta Air Lines passenger’s flight to Seattle took an embarrassing turn after a misunderstanding with flight attendants escalated into a tense confrontation.

The passenger shared in a post to Reddit that they were simply watching an Instagram reel on a flight when they were accused of being on a video call. The incident, described by them as “extremely embarrassing and humiliating,” has sparked fury and a discussion online.

In the post, the traveler recounted the experience, starting with an interaction with a flight attendant during a snack service.

“As I’m choosing my snacks, she proceeded to tell me that she saw that I was on a video call,” the poster wrote. Despite explaining that they were just watching a clip and even showing the phone as proof, the flight attendant “stood there and argued with me saying, ‘You were on a video call.'”

A Stressful Confrontation

The situation escalated after the flight attendant reported the incident to a supervisor. When the second crew member approached, the passenger was met with a threat of a significant fine.

“When he approached me, he threatened that I’ll be fined $70,000 if I’m on a video call,” the user wrote.

The passenger said that neither crew member gave them an opportunity to explain, choosing instead to “raise her voice talking over me” and “make a scene on the flight in front of all of the passengers.” The passenger added that they eventually had to tell the crew member to leave them alone.

“I’m a super chill person so this encounter was extremely embarrassing and humiliating,” they wrote in the post. “What do y’all think? Should I file a complaint?”

Newsweek reached out to u/In_my_bag_mood and Delta Air Lines for comment via Reddit and email.

The Internet Weighs In

The post received an outpouring of support, with many commenters urging the passenger to file a complaint.

One user, who had a similar experience, shared their story: “I’ve actually had this happen to me before,” they wrote. “I was sitting next to my wife, we were talking but happened to have my AirPods in, just with transparency turned on or whatever. Flight attendant tells me to get off my phone and I say, ‘Oh, I’m just talking with my wife.’ She says again to get off my phone, and I hold my phone up to display that I’m not on it.”

The user added that they “ended up reporting her by name and getting a couple of miles out of it.”

Other users were direct in their advice. “Absolutely file a complaint. Appalling behavior,” one person wrote, while another urged them to act quickly to get compensation. “File it expeditiously and get those compensatory miles! Quickly, too, because this is ridiculous!”

Many commenters also questioned the feasibility of a video call on an airplane, given the notoriously unreliable in-flight Wi-Fi.

“‘Ma’am, I can prove I wasn’t on a video call based on the fact that your Wi-Fi has to be reliable enough for there to actually be a video call, which it’s not,'” one person posted.

A Swift Resolution

The passenger followed the advice and filed a complaint, and the airline’s response was swift.

“I filed the complaint, and Delta gave me 10,000 bonus miles,” the user wrote in an update to the post. “I was surprised how quickly they responded.” The outcome sparked further discussion about customer service and accountability.