A disgruntled flight attendant “grounded a plane” and refused to leave the gate until a passenger cleaned up their filth from the aisle.
The incident occurred on a Southwest Airlines plane on Saturday (April 15) and was shared by a passenger who witnessed the incident.
Photos of a large pile of spilt rice in the middle of an aisle have been circulating online, which had been dropped very close to one passenger’s seat.
Jennifer Schaper, who was onboard the flight, wrote on Twitter: “Just boarded the plane and somebody spilled food.”
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She said one flight attendant became angry about the situation and “screamed” at passengers.
The amused passenger, who described the incident as ‘comical’, wrote: “The flight attendant screamed ‘Who spilled rice?’ and is walking up and down the aisles.
“They are refusing to leave the gate until someone cleans the rice.”
Jennifer later updated her followers, writing: “The people in my row and I have now the giggles and she’s looking at us suspiciously. #RiceGate”.
“Rice is getting cleaned but she is MAD. She has let us all know that we were not raised right and she is disappointed in all of us. #RiceGate”, she said in a later update.
Jennifer explained that she didn’t spill the rice but believes the person who did should have “absolutely” cleaned it up.
However, Southwest Airlines, she said, were “out of line” for how they handled the situation as they continued to delay an already delayed flight.
While it remains unclear whether the culprit came forward, the rice was eventually cleaned up and the flight took off.
Jennifer said she believes the passengers were reprimanded over the incident.
In a final tweet, she said: “Update: there were a few bumps so they didn’t give us beverage service. I think it was punishment. #RiceGate @SouthwestAir.”
Underneath this last social media post, a Southwest Airlines spokesperson issued an apology for the lack of refreshments offered.
They said: “We’re sorry that our Ccew was unable to provide onboard refreshments due to bumpy travel conditions.
“Safety is always our number one priority, but we hope that we can make it up to you next time! Thank you for bearing there with us, Jennifer.”
Some Twitter users agreed with the flight attendant’s decision, with one writing: “I just want to say she is correct. Somebody just wasn’t raised right.”
Another wrote: “Flight attendants are not there to clean up the mess of other adults. They are safety professionals. Period. #delaytheflight”
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