Originally Posted by
Larry in TN
I think what was going on was that SWA wanted the passengers to go to the check in counters to have their rebooking handled. The agents at the gates were trying to work other flights. That's fairly normal. I don't think that SWA has a customer service counter inside of security. The real problem was they didn't have any flights to rebook the passengers on.
No idea why it became a stand-off. That part isn't in the video. SWA called MNAA (Metro Nashville Airport Authority) for help and MNAA sent the officer who didn't handle it very well. Crowd control would be a function of MNAA but that's not how it's supposed to work out.
This is probably more likely. Knowing how poorly pax treat Frontline workers, they were probably harassing and ignoring the gate agents who said they couldn't help them. When they were instructed to go to the ticket counter, they refused. They are, after all, special and deserve to be accommodated. The officer was a bumbling fill fool but that doesn't mean the passengers are in the right. My guess is they changed their behavior as soon as they started filming... Which was the whole point in filming in the first place. Gotcha!