Medic1

Sorry, typo. It was Philly. Maybe the luggage thing was at the request of the pax and not by rules.

I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, because I'm not. Following a serious car accident a few years ago, I also struggled with anxiety attacks for over two years that required medication to get under control. That being said, I also worked over twenty years in the medical field and I can tell you that then, as well as now, anxiety attacks are not considered a medical emergency. Yes, it's something that can seriously suck for the person having it, but there has never been a documented medical case of someone dying from one. Yeah, if you have one and freeze up behind the wheel of your car, you could die in an accident, but the attack itself does not kill. On an enclosed airplane, a passenger spinning out of control could create safety issues for other pax. Maybe that's why the pilot decided to let her off.

Here's a follow up question: What if this woman had demanded to get off 10 minutes after wheels up? Do you turn around, or do you physically restrain her (if necessary) for the duration of the normally scheduled flight?