A Southwest Airlines employee had to be hospitalized in Dallas Saturday after what the airline described to Spectrum News as “verbal and physical” assault by a female passenger.

What You Need To Know

  • A Southwest Airlines employee was hospitalized Saturday after being assaulted by a passenger, the airline told Spectrum News in a statement

  • The incident took place at Dallas Love Field on a plane that was bound for La Guardia Airport in New York City

  • The suspect was charged with aggravated assault and was being held on a $10,000 bond, jail records show

  • The Federal Aviation Administration reports a sharp uptick in verbal and physical assaults on airline staff members during the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of which are over masks

The attack, the airline and Dallas police said, took place at Love Field Airport just after the passenger boarded a flight from Dallas to La Guardia Airport in New York City.

“We can confirm reports of a female passenger verbally and physically assaulting one of our female Operations Agents shortly after boarding Flight # 4976 with scheduled service from Dallas Love Field to La Guardia on Saturday.  The incident took place during the boarding process. The passenger was taken into custody by local law enforcement officers, and our Employee was transported to a local hospital,” a Southwest spokesperson wrote in a statement to Spectrum News.

Southwest, as of Saturday, didn’t have an update on the employee’s condition. Police reported that the passenger, identified as 32-year-old Arielle Jean Jackson, got into an altercation with an employee at the back of the plane, was asked to leave, and then got into an altercation with a second employee, whom she struck with a closed fist.

“We do not have an update on her condition, but we have a Station Manager with her at the hospital with the full support of her Southwest Family sending our thoughts, prayers, and love,” Southwest’s statement continues. “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.”

Dallas police report that Jackson was charged with aggravated assault, and jail records show she was being held on a $10,000 bond.

This is just the latest in a sharp uptick in physical and verbal attacks on airline staff members during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Federal Aviation Administration reports 5,144 cases of unruly passengers since the beginning of 2021, 3,710 of which involved masks. Of those, 973 prompted investigations and 239 initiated law enforcement cases.

On June 29, a Texas woman was involved in an altercation aboard a United Airlines flight from Anchorage, Alaska, to San Francisco, California. Debby Dutton, 50, of Cypress, Texas, is accused of assaulting a flight attendant who asked Dutton’s husband to put a mask on. Dutton faces 20 years in prison if convicted.