Cellphone video caught the moments an argument escalated into a full-fledged fight between a passenger and four Spirit Airlines workers at the Baltimore airport.
TMZ reports Tuesday’s fight happened at the Baltimore/Washington International Airport. The video shows one man who appears to be a passenger at a gate arguing with a group of four employees standing at the check-in counter.
It’s unclear what led to the altercation, but it escalated after the four workers walked from behind the counter and surrounded the passenger.
The passenger puts his fists up, ready for a fight.
“Let’s go! You’re going to jail today!” the man says.
One employee charges him, throws a punch in his direction, and then grabs and holds him while his co-workers start kicking and hitting the man.
The worker who grabbed the man tackled him to the floor and held him there for a while, appearing to try to restrain his movements. Viewers can see another worker approach them and punch the man while he’s being held on the ground. After a few moments, the situation calms, and the worker lets go of the man.
The Maryland Airport Authority confirmed that officers were notified about the fight. They said five people were involved, one of whom suffered minor injuries.
A Spirit representative also told TMZ that the four workers seen fighting were not direct employees of the airline. Rather, they’re employed by a third-party company the airline uses. They were suspended from that company for the time being as the investigation remains ongoing.
This isn’t the first time Spirit Airlines agents have been caught up in fights with passengers.
Last February, two passengers and two airline gate agents brawled at the Philadelphia airport. The fight started after the agents told the mother-daughter duo their bags were too big to be designated as carry-ons and that they had to pay a baggage fee to get on the flight. The daughter ignored the agents and went ahead to board anyway. The fight started when one agent tried to stop her. All four had to answer to a private criminal complaint.
In December, Spirit Airlines had to ban a drunk man who fought a police officer in Colombia. The man was caught on camera arguing with another male passenger while the Florida-bound plane was parked. When a police officer came on board to stop the disruption, the man started fighting the officer. He was eventually taken into custody once the fight ended.
