Flight attendant celebrated for barring apparently drunk passenger she spotted doing cartwheels in airport

Video of a Southwest Airlines flight attendant banning a mother she had earlier seen doing drunken cartwheels in the airport has gone viral.

The incident was originally posted to Reddit in June but has received new attention and has now had more than 13 million views with many users supporting the flight attendant’s actions.

The video, seemingly shot by the passenger and her partner, shows the flight attendant blocking the door to the aircraft and telling them they cannot get aboard.

“You can walk away. You can’t come on this aircraft … that’s because you guys are jeopardising the safety of this aircraft right now,” adding that she had seen the cartwheels in the terminal.

“You mean the cartwheels I was doing with the children that I met on the flight?” the woman asks.

“As I was watching you drink your alcohol,” the unidentified attendant replied.

The passenger insisted she was sober and even demanded a sobriety test.

“You need to get out of here. You cannot step any closer to me,” the flight attendant replied. “If you step any closer to me we’re going to have problems.”

And she continued: “You are flipping all over the ground, you’re loud, you want attention…the whole entire crew saw it and all of us are in agreement that you cannot come on here.”

The passenger then admitted she “did have a glass of wine.”

“Anyone who is exhibiting signs of being intoxicated is not allowed to come onto an aircraft,” the employee retorted.

The passenger then pleaded that she had “kids back home” she was trying to get back for.

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” the flight attendant replied.

Social media users have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to give their backing to the employee.

“Handled like a pro! She was civil and assertive at all times. Safety of passengers is paramount,” one user wrote.

“Good. Avoid problems before they get in the air,” wrote another.

“Imagine if she’s acting this way while trying to board. She’s proving them right,” added another user.

And another wrote: “Glad the attendant held her ground.”

“As you probably know, Federal Aviation Regulations prohibit airlines from transporting any Customer who appears to be intoxicated,” Southwest Airlines said in a statement to The Independent.