Southwest employee hospitalized after assault at Dallas airport

DALLAS — A Southwest Airlines employee was assaulted by a passenger Saturday afternoon at a Dallas airport, officials said.

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In a statement, a spokesperson for the airline said the incident occurred at Dallas Love Field Airport, WFAA reported. According to the spokesperson, a passenger was “verbally and physically assaulting” an employee before a flight to New York’s La Guardia Airport.

Dallas police said the passenger, Arielle Jean Jackson, 32, boarded the plane and got into a “verbal altercation” with a flight attendant at the back of the aircraft, KXAS reported.

The attendant instructed Jackson to leave the plane, and the woman walked to the front of the aircraft, CNBC reported. Jackson then allegedly argued with the second attendant and punched that person in the head, according to the news organization.

According to Dallas police, the employee was taken to a hospital and was in stable condition, KXAS reported.

Jackson was charged with aggravated assault, according to the television station.

“Southwest Airlines maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding any type of harassment or assault and fully support our Employee as we cooperate with local authorities regarding this unacceptable incident,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement.

The Federal Aviation Administration records data on reports of unruly passengers, according to WFAA. In 2021, there were 5,114 reports of unruly passengers between Jan. 1 and Nov. 9 across all airlines, according to the FAA’s data.

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