A passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight was arrested on Sunday night in New Orleans after allegedly escaping the plane through the emergency hatch and running away on the tarmac at the Louis Armstrong Airport.
According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office (JPSO), who arrested the man, the Southwest Airlines plane was still parked at the terminal and had not yet initiated the run up for take-off when the passenger made their dangerous escape.
Over-wing exits are located over the wings of the plane and offer an emergency, self-help escape to passengers who might be sitting in the middle of the plane in case of the need to evacuate the vehicle. Passengers would normally slide down the wings before reaching the tarmac. Emergency exits on planes are usually located at over 6 feet from the ground.
The JPSO said that the man was taken to a hospital for evaluation, though no more details were offered, as reported by local news station WWL-TV. The passenger's identity has not been revealed. The investigation of the case will be referred to federal authorities.
Photos shared by the New Orleans TV station show the Southwest Airlines' overwing emergency door open and a man being handcuffed by two police officers on the airport's tarmac.
In a statement to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines said: "We commend our flight and ground crews for their swift action and apologize to our Customers for their inconvenience."
In response to our request for comment, Louis Armstrong Airport said: "There was an incident yesterday evening involving a Southwest Airlines passenger's unauthorized deplaning of the aircraft. Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office responded to the incident."
Neither the airlines nor the airport provided details on what flight was affected.
Newsweek reached out to the JPSO by phone for comment.
A similar incident took place in July 2021, when a passenger aboard an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Baltimore jumped out the emergency exit and onto the tarmac at Charlotte Douglas International Airport after the plane, which had a 2-hour delay, was canceled and made to wait an extra 45 minutes at the gate. The passenger was arrested.
The past weekend was one of the busiest for air travel in the U.S., as Americans moved around the country en masse for Thanksgiving and were offered cheaper fares than last year's.
The weekend was particularly crucial for Southwest Airlines, which between late last year and early 2023 had to cancel a total of 16,700 flights due to severe winter weather. While other companies also faced cancellations, Southwest was the worst affected, facing an operational meltdown that cost the company over a billion dollars.
Since then, the Dallas-based company has tried to improve its planes' performances and resilience to harsh weather conditions, as well as increase the flexibility of its flight crews scheduling.
Roughly 3 million people were expected to travel on Sunday, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, closing a busy Thanksgiving weekend.
Update 11/27/23, 9:31 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comments from Southwest Airlines and the Louis Armstrong Airport.
Update 11/27/23, 3:50 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and context.
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Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs ... Read more
