Man Asked to Leave Southwest Flight Over Tweet

A Minnesota man and his two children were asked to leave a Southwest Airlines flight in Denver after he tweeted about a boarding disagreement.

Duff Watson said he has priority boarding because of his "A-List" customer status. But a gate agent didn't allow his two children, ages 6 and 9, to board with him Sunday on a flight to Minneapolis.

Watson told NBC affiliate KARE in Minneapolis that he tweeted that the gate agent was rude and that, because of that tweet, his family was asked to leave the plane after reaching their seats.

"I said in caps, 'Rudest agent in Denver. Kimberly S Gate C39 not happy @swairlines,'" said Watson.

Watson said the agent felt threatened and that his family could not return to the plane until he deleted his tweet.

"Then there's an announcement that comes the overhead announcement system and it said, 'Will the Watson party please gather your belongings and exit the aircraft,'" Watson said.

The family was eventually allowed back on the plane.

Southwest said in a statement that the customer was "briefly removed" from the flight "to resolve the conversation outside of the aircraft and away from the other passengers." The airline, which is investigating the situation, said it has offered Watson "vouchers as a gesture of goodwill."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us