Southwest Airlines Bans Unruly Passenger After Viral Attack Video

Southwest Airlines announced the woman seen attacking a flight attendant in a viral video has been permanently banned from flying with the carrier.

According to the New York Post, the unnamed employee was working Southwest Airlines Flight 700 from Sacramento to San Diego on Sunday morning when she was physically attacked by 28-year-old Vyvianna Quinonez.

Video obtained by CBS News shows the moment a Southwest Airlines flight attendant was punched by a passenger after asking her to keep her seat belt fastened during a flight from Sacramento to San Diego Sunday. https://t.co/gQusevodYC pic.twitter.com/oOYvPdwCFj

— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 27, 2021

The flight attendant confronted Quinonez and her family on two occasions about not wearing masks after their flight had landed, which led to a verbal altercation, according to other passengers onboard.

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One of the other travelers on the plane, Michelle Manner, told the NY Post the Southwest employee escalated the situation and put her hands on Quinonez before the violent attack, which left the crew member missing two teeth and covered in blood.

In addition to a lifetime ban from the airline, the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department said Quinonez also faces a felony charge of battery causing serious bodily injury.

“As we’ve communicated previously, we do have a process to permanently restrict passengers from traveling on Southwest, and please know that the passenger involved in the most recent incident has been advised that she may no longer fly on Southwest Airlines,” Southwest vice president Sonya Lacore told the NY Post.

Earlier this week, TWU Local 556 President Lyn Montgomery sent a letter of concern to Southwest CEO Gary Kelly over the increase in unruly passenger incidents. Montgomery revealed there have been 477 incidents of “misconduct” by passengers on Southwest flights between April 8 and May 15.

In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that airlines had reported 2,500 incidents of unruly passengers this year, with agency officials describing the disturbing trend as being ‘off the charts.’