A Southwest Airlines flight from Nashville to Fort Lauderdale was diverted to Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday after a passenger who had set a prayer timer for Ramadan became “agitated” in what was reportedly misunderstood as a “possible security matter.”
Dramatic video footage circulating on social media shows passengers aboard Southwest Airlines Flight 2094 on Friday evening with their hands raised and heads lowered while authorities entered the aircraft to remove one passenger.
Watch Below:
About 30 minutes after taking off from Nashville International Airport, flight crew began running up and down the aisle, appearing flustered, before an announcement was made instructing passengers to put their heads down and hands up, passenger Sarah Porter told WKRN.
“We didn’t know if it was something mechanical, something medical,” Sarah’s mother, Julie Porter, who was also on the flight, told the outlet.
The Federal Aviation Administration reportedly said the Southwest Airlines crew had reported a “passenger disturbance,” before diverting the flight to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and landing at around 9:00 p.m.
Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, said it diverted the aircraft in response to a “possible security matter.”
Sarah told WKRN that her first indication “there was someone dangerous on the plane was when the SWAT team came on and started yelling at us,” adding, “It was a little annoying not knowing what was happening until we were getting kind of held at gunpoint.”
“I feel like it was a little maybe dangerous having us sit with that guy for an hour and a half before they detained him,” the passenger continued. “We heard some things other people said, like, about his bag. He was, like, weird about not wanting his bag overhead.”
While Sarah said, “We didn’t see anything, personally,” she recalled hearing that the passenger who was removed had wanted his bag “at his feet, but it was too big,” so the man got “agitated” and “started texting people.”
“And that’s what started this whole thing,” she said.
After the passengers deplaned in Atlanta, K-9 units inspected each bag, she explained.
Travelers then had to wait several hours before boarding another aircraft to Fort Lauderdale, making it to their destination just before 3:30 a.m. Saturday.
After interviewing the passenger in question, the FBI and Atlanta Police Department determined that there was “no credible threat,” and no charges will be filed, WKRN reported.
The NBC News report explained that “the incident had to do with a passenger who had set a timer on his phone so that he could pray for Ramadan, the holiest month of the Islamic calendar.”
“We appreciate the professionalism of our Flight Crew and sincerely apologize to our Customers for the significant delay. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of its Customers and Employees,” a Southwest Airlines spokesperson told WKRN.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
