December is the busiest time of the year for travel. With relatives flying to different parts of the country to be with their loved ones, travelers coming in for a vacation, and many more leaving for warmer destinations, it means airports across America deal with a higher-than-normal volume of passengers over the holidays.
But this year, travelers have had to face additional hurdles: a brutal winter storm that hit much of the US and Canada caused flight cancelations right before Christmas. These cancelations have carried on into the days before the New Year.
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In a recent viral TikTok posted by Amani Robinson of Nashville ( @a.ndreart ), a security officer can be seen threatening to arrest passengers who did not leave the airport gate, unless they had valid tickets.
Robinson And Her Mother, Shelley Morrison, Were At Nashville International Airport.
The pair were attempting to leave for Cleveland when they became stranded at the airport due to a flight delay, with little information. A nearly three-minute-long TikTok shows their interaction with an officer who was called after the mother and daughter, among other passengers to different locations, waited at the desk of a gate for over an hour for help, Today reports .
The TikTok shows an officer arguing with several customers, telling them that they will be arrested for trespassing if they do not leave. The customers’ flights are all either delayed or canceled, and the officer informed them that any person with a canceled ticket is required to leave.
But many of the passengers still had valid tickets and had to prove it to the officer.
Robinson And Morrison Continued To Have Issues With The Same Officer.
A second TikTok shows the police officer returning to the mother and daughter, once again attempting to dispute the validity of their tickets. Robinson and Morrison had stepped into a second line when the officer picked them out. The officer follows the pair to their luggage, where he checks their tickets.
Robinson and Morrison ultimately ended up leaving security and were rebooked for flights that ended up being canceled. They spent their Christmas in the airport, unable to leave.
Robinson And Morrison Had Been Attempting To Fly With Southwest.
Though the storm and staffing shortages have affected airlines across all airports, Southwest Airlines had been hit the worst. Over the 26th and 27th of December, Southwest canceled over 70% and 63% of its flights , respectively.
The Airline Claims That The Storm Left Its Crew Displaced And Unable To Make Contact.
Both President Joe Biden and the Department of Transportation have released statements condemning the airline’s response to its decline in service.
