It’s no Steven Slater evacuation-slide escape or JetBlue pilot freakout, but a recent rant by flight attendant Jose Serrano is definitely up there in the pantheon of great air-travel meltdowns.
With his American Eagle flight stuck for hours on the runway at New York’s LaGuardia airport on Monday, passengers on board were becoming increasingly frustrated and, reportedly, aggressive — ultimately prompting Serrano to lose his cool in spectacular fashion.
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“If you have balls, this is your time,” said Serrano over the intercom to passengers apparently demanding to be let off the plane, in video obtained by The New York Post. “Otherwise you’re going to have to fly with Jose.”
This statement, of course, did not go over well. But it didn’t end there. “I’m not responsible for the weather!” Serrano said to passengers, in comments that don’t appear to have been caught on camera but were also reported by the Post. “I don’t care anymore. This is probably my last flight.”
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Port Authority officers were called and Serrano was removed for questioning but there were no arrests made, ABC News reported. The flight didn’t end up taking off that day. American Airlines issued a statement apologizing for the incident, but it also noted an email from a passenger that pointed out that Serrano was faced with “the most horrible display of passenger aggressiveness” at the time.