In a viral video, an Alaska Airlines flight attendant had to repeatedly punch an unruly passenger attacking a woman while reportedly experiencing a “violent medical episode.”
The incident occurred on a February 1st flight from Oakland, California, bound for Portland, Oregon.
“Let go of her hair!” someone shouts in the video.
WATCH:
Alaska Airlines Flight 2221 incident Oakland, CA 2/1/2024 ~10:35 am pic.twitter.com/ND7g1YqUVz
— chad_bro_chill_17 (@walterizzle) February 1, 2025
Per OregonLive:
Alaska Airlines confirmed the Feb. 1 incident on a flight from Oakland, California, telling The Oregonian/OregonLive that the passenger “appeared to be experiencing a violent medical episode that involved an ongoing physical assault against other passengers and our crew.“
“Our crew responded to this chaotic situation quickly and kept all guests safe until law enforcement could intervene,” the airline wrote.
ADVERTISEMENTIn a video posted on social media the day of the incident, an Alaska Airlines flight attendant appears to use a closed fist to strike a male passenger half a dozen times as another voice yells at the passenger to, “Let go of her hair, sir.”
Eventually, the man released his grip, and the woman moved to another seat. The flight attendant can be heard asking for “another able-bodied man to help” restrain the passenger.
Air traffic records show the Feb. 1 flight, scheduled to take off at 10:41 a.m., returned to its gate and the flight was canceled.
Viral video shows Alaska Airlines flight attendant punching screaming man who attacked female passenger https://t.co/OXKHEZO14y pic.twitter.com/XvFRRTeXPo
— New York Post (@nypost) February 9, 2025
“The Alameda County sheriff’s deputies responded to the incident,” OregonLive noted.
“The guest in question has been banned from Alaska and Horizon due to the nature of the physical assault,” Alaska Airlines stated.
From the New York Post:
One of the witnesses who uploaded the video to X claimed the out-of-control passenger was “saying weird stuff and rocking back and forth” before the incident.
After the chaotic outburst, the plane returned to the gate at the Oakland Airport, with the unruly passenger arrested and taken into police custody. The flight was then canceled.
Alaska Airlines confirmed that the viral incident occurred on one of its flights as it commended the flight attendant’s quick actions and banned the suspect from all future flights with the company.
ADVERTISEMENT“He appeared to be experiencing a violent medical episode that involved an ongoing physical assault against other passengers and our crew,” the airliner explained in a statement.
“Our flight attendants’ highest responsibility is the safety of guests and crew on board,” Alaska said. “Our crew responded to this chaotic situation quickly and kept all guests safe until law enforcement could intervene.
