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A man described as a ‘veteran in crisis’ was filmed screaming at Miami Airport staff before hurling a heavy metal pole at them during a meltdown that was captured on camera.
The unidentified man could be seen screaming and yelling at an American Airlines boarding gate when he suddenly picked up a metal pole used as a line partition and threw it at airport employees nearby.
He was also filmed kicking a wet floor sign, with the incident said to have begun after he walked into a woman’s restroom to confront his girlfriend.
Moments later the man – who is said to have been intoxicated – was banned from boarding his flight, which is said to have caused his temper to erupt.
‘Where’s the police?’ a bystander could be heard asking amidst the menacing incident.
A man was captured on video yelling and abusing airline staff while at the American Airlines terminal at the Miami International Airport on Friday
The unidentified man picked up a metal pole used as a queue partition and threw it at airport workers
Miami-Dade police say the man was a military veteran who was in the midst of an episode
The man was eventually apprehended and detained by police, before being transported to an area hospital for evaluation, Miami-Dade Police told NBC Miami.
Further details on what caused the incident have not been shared, and it is unclear if the man who hurled the pole will face any criminal charges.
Officials at Miami International Airport say there has been a noticeable spike in aggressive passenger behavior, with the Federal Aviation Administration revealing there was 150 incidents of unruly behavior in 2019, compared to a whopping 3,800 so far this year.
Meanwhile, the outlet reports that airline workers like Linda Bumstead, a Washington, D.C.-based flight attendant, have enrolled in self-defense classes as incidents and attacks on flight personnel continue to increase.
While the course, which focuses on de-escalation techniques, has been available since the 9/11 terrorist attacks back in 2001, enrollment in the classes has increased drastically in the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Police apprehended and detained the man, before taking him to an area hospital where he was evaluated
The Federal Aviation Administration revealed there was 150 incidents of unruly behavior in 2019, compared to a whopping 3,800 so far this year
‘The world’s gone a little crazy, so I’m not absolutely surprised, but I want to be able to protect myself,’ Bumstead said.
The spike in airport-related outbursts and violence has coincided with the introduction of various travel measures and restrictions, namely mask mandates.
In this year alone, over 2,500 passengers have been banned by airlines for refusing to wear a mask, according to Reuters.
Flyers who refused to wear a mask can now face fines up to $9,000 as the FAA attempts to dissuade the growing number of unruly passengers.
And more people are traveling by plane this summer than any other point in the pandemic, with 1,511,294 passengers recorded on Saturday, August 28, compared to 591,734 the same time last year, the CDC reports.
Source: Daily Mail
