Melee ensued at the Philadelphia International Airport on Jan. 30 as a fight broke out between agents from Spirit Airlines and two female passengers. The altercation happened sometime before 7:30 p.m. near the E Terminal.
The Daily Mail shared an exclusive video from the physical altercation between a 36-year-old mother, her 17-year-old daughter and several agents from Spirit Airlines at the airport. The fight reportedly occurred after the duo was told that their carry-on bags were too big for the Fort Lauderdale-bound flight and they would have to pay a fee.
The teenager allegedly attempted to board the flight without paying the fee anyway when a 24-year-old Spirit agent blocked her, prompting the fight. The video begins with a woman yelling, “Security! Security!” as the two passengers and two female agents are seen punching each other and pulling hair. A little boy is also seen on the video crying as the fight escalated.
According to the outlet, the physical altercation began when the daughter snatched the locs of a Spirit employee and reportedly punched the agent after being blocked from getting on the flight. One female Spirit agent is seen on the video saying, “Get off of her, Get off of her,” as another female agent steps up and tries to break up the fight.
One Spirit agent appeared to swing at the teen’s face repeatedly and the fight escalated as a bystander yelled, “Where the f— is security.”
Several male bystanders are seen on the video trying to end the brawl and keep the women apart to no avail. The brawl continued into another area as the mother’s shirt was ripped off and she fought in her bra. At one point, a wig is also pulled off during the mayhem, and the mother appeared to have lost her shoes as well. The little boy crying in the video is believed to have been with the mother-daughter duo.
One bystander recalled how long the fight seemed to go on, which was for approximately two minutes. “I was shocked at how violent it was and how long it went on for,” they said.
Another bystander recalled witnessing the fight between the Spirit agents and the mother-daughter-duo. “I don’t know exactly who started it, but there was a lot of yelling and I turned around to see two Spirit employees fighting a mother and daughter.”
The video was shared on Twitter by @VidmanMedia with the caption, “All of this ruckus over baggage charges at Philly airport #Philadelphia #brawls #fight #Airport #Ratchet.”
One Twitter user responded to the video with, “Those baggage charges are expensive!” Another replied, “Airports have turned into Waffle House.”
The 24-year-old Spirit agent suffered a “minor eyelid laceration” but according to the Philadelphia Police Department, there were no serious injuries.
“On Monday, 30 January, 2023, at approximately 7:29 P.M. police received information that several passengers were pulling apart a 24-year-old female complainant and a 17-year-old female along with her 39-year-old mother during an argument over additional baggage fees,” read a statement from the PPD.
“At this time, the 17-year-old female attempted to access Jetway and was halted by the 24-year-old complainant when she was punched/hair pulled by the 17-year-old female being assisted by her 39-year-old mother. The 24-year-old female sustained a minor eyelid laceration. All participants were advised by police in reference to private criminal complaint documentation.”
Spirit Airlines responded to an inquiry on Twitter with a statement saying they would look into the situation.
“We want to look into this for you,” read the tweet. “Please DM us your flight information when you have a chance.
