A passenger is facing assault charges after hitting a Southwest Airlines employee while boarding the plane at Dallas Love Field airport on Saturday afternoon.
Officials said a passenger verbally and physically abused a female employee, punching her in the head. The airline employee, who had not been named, was transported to the hospital and later released.
The passenger had a verbal argument with the operations agent after being ordered to vacate the plane, according to the Dallas Police Department.
The passenger allegedly had another verbal confrontation with a different Southwest Airlines operation agent as she was exiting, which the passenger then punched in the head, according to Dallas police.
Police said Arielle Jean Jackson, 32, was detained and charged with aggravated assault. Southwest Airlines spokesperson Chris Mainz said the agent was brought to a local hospital but was discharged Saturday night and is recuperating at home.
As of Sunday afternoon, Jackson was being held in Dallas County jail on a $10,000 bond after being charged with aggravated assault. It's unknown whether she had legal representation.
In a statement to The Dallas Morning News, Southwest Airlines spokesman Chris Mainz stated, "Our whole Southwest Family wishes [the employee] a swift and healthy recovery as we extend our thoughts, prayers, and love to her."
Southwest is still working to clear up rumors about the nature of the altercation.
According to the letter the flight attendants union addressed to the airline's chief executive in a call for extra protections as travel recovers, a Southwest Airlines flight attendant was assaulted by a passenger in May and lost two teeth.
On a Southwest Airlines aircraft from Boston to Chicago in February, a passenger allegedly refused to place her carry-on bags in the overhead bin.
After being told she couldn't continue the flight, she allegedly "held onto the armrest, yelled loudly and angrily" and used disparaging language and obscene gestures at a staff member.
She allegedly spat on a staff member as she exited the plane. At the gate, she was greeted by police officers.
The Federal Aviation Administration has registered 5,114 rowdy passenger events so far this year, with 73% of them involving passengers who refused to wear face coverings as required by federal regulation.
This year, the Federal Aviation Administration carried out almost 950 investigations into passenger behavior on flights. This is the biggest total in the agency's history, dating all the way back to 1995.
Between 2016 and 2020, the agency conducted an average of 136 investigations every year.
