Passengers on a Southwest flight were treated to an impromptu in-flight concert from rock legends including Hoobastank, Simple Plan and The Used amid a nationwide ground stop.
The wild singalong happened Friday aboard a plane bound for Orlando from LAX after the Federal Aviation Administration announced the unprecedented move just before 4 p.m. ET to ground all flights — prompting a wave of cancellations that left thousands of travelers stranded.
The music legends were on their way to perform in Florida on Saturday and Sunday as part of the national Vans Warped Tour 2026 when the ground stop was announced.
The Southwest flight was part of a special fan experience, according to numerous videos posted online.
In a slew of videos posted on social media, the rockers turned the travel nightmare into a rock show, belting out some of their biggest hits for fellow passengers.
The cabin transformed into a makeshift concert venue, with passengers holding up their phones as Hoobastank frontman Doug Robb walked down the aisle belting out songs including the band’s 2003 hit “The Reason,” while guitarist Dan Estrin strummed from the front of the plane.
In another clip from the tour’s official Instagram account, The Used frontman Bert McCracken rocked passengers with the band’s 2004 hit “All That I’ve Got” and 2002’s “The Taste of Ink.”
Simple Plan’s Pierre Bouvier kept it a bit more subdued, performing with his guitar at the front of the plane. Standing behind the mic, he performed several songs, including “I’m Just a Kid” and “Perfect” from the band’s 2002 debut album.
The plane was eventually able to take off, according to fan videos.
Although the freeze was lifted around 8:15 p.m. ET, it was unclear how the ground stop would affect the weekend-long concert.
Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman posted a video message Saturday saying there were cancellations and schedule adjustments due to the grounding.
“We will have a few bands canceling and we will be updating you on that. Not as many as we thought, because the bands are working hard to change their flights,” Lyman said.
“Some bands have jumped in vans and [are] driving from as far away as Chicago and Houston.”
“We’re going to push some bands that were playing today, [they] will be playing on Sunday. We’ve extended the sets out and giving bands more time to play. Bear with us. We’re all working hard,” he added.
The Southwest flight was part of a fan experience, according to numerous videos posted online.
Those who were on board thanked the rockers for the show and said it really made a bad situation so much better.
“Thank you Southwest for the memories,” rocker Lolo wrote. “Every plane was grounded today, but the emo gods made sure this one flew.”
“Stuck on a plane for hours and you end up with a free Hoobastank show. Honestly not the worst way to wait it out,” another person added.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Saturday investigators were looking into whether a contractor’s error or a faulty router triggered the nationwide grounding.
As of Saturday, 4,467 flights across the US were canceled and another 4,430 were delayed, according to FlightAware data.
