AirTran Airways kicks off 109 people for talking on cell phone
 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/03/us/new...html?hpt=hp_t1

There is 109 passengers who got kicks off the plane for talking on cell phone and they did not stay in the seated. It's unacceptable! They have listen the flight crew instruction. Those 100 high school seniors students and 9 teachers as well.

There is also discussion in this thread in the Southwest forum (it was a FL flight): Senior Class Kicked off Flight for Being Disruptive

Kudos to the flight crew.

It's unfortunate they are now making this a "religious" issue. Oh all the things that jewish people had to endure due to their religion, this was surely not one of them.

Captain handled it perfectly.

6 am flight!
Kids are excited, they are going on a trip.
Chaperones should have been asked to step in and ensure discipline, and kinds follow crew instructions.

Probably crew was overworked? Came in late the night before and had to operate an early morning flight? Captain and Crew are cranky & ?tired as the caffeine hasn't kicked in. Irrational behavior by crew and Captain.

A little more patience and this unpleasant episode could have been avoided.

Now SWA is giving away vouchers to all the kids and their chaperones to make this go away.

It took some kids as much as 12 hours to get to their final destination through all kinds of connection points.

Just weird behavior?

Yeah, I saw the thread on CNN with lots of irritating whataboutery w.r.t. businessmen not turning off their phones (in general of course, not specifically on this flight) and claims that most of the kids were angels (though the flight crew were not in a position to pick the good eggs from the bad).

Stupidity all around. I highly doubt the passengers were as "innocent" as the chaperones say they were. Flat out, i believe based on past experience, that the chaperones really didn't do a good job telling the students to behave. I have my doubts about the school's account. It's more like the chaperones covering their asses on an ineffective display of leadership by them. But the FAs and pilots should have tried to explain the seriousness to the chaperones just one more time before kicking everyone out. Why did the few passengers who were not part of the group have to suffer the delay? Really, all the FAs had to do was tell the chaperones "Look , you see what we see? You need to control your group or you are all out. You got 5 minutes to calm these kids down or make arrangements for one of you and the unruly kids to leave the plane. It's your choice." Actually the gate crew should have been a little proactive when they saw such a big crowd of teens at the gate and asked who would be responsible for the teens among the adults. When you have so many young people together, things can get a little loud and unruly. Kids excited to go somewhere. Not excusing them by all means as I feel like the school kids and chaperones are not being very honest.


I am surprised this was on an Airtran flight. I expect such stuff from WN that has made its name in the news by kicking out people from their planes for being fat or drunk or too lesbian or whtever.

Large groups fly all the time and they don't get kicked off. Not saying airline employees don't make mistakes but kicking people off an a/c is always the last resort. Especially when you know something like that would be scrutinized.

completely agree. I obviously wasnt there but I know how teenagers are. Put 100 on a plane and I can only imagine how they were acting as if they were above and beyond any law or authority like most teens think they are. By the shaperones and school siding with the kids it shows why kids act the way they do these days. Theyre taught that someone else is always responsible for the actions you take or the things you do. Instead of the parents of these kids or the school punishing the kids behavior they are blaming the airline for "overreacting" or making it a religion thing? Thats absurd.