Airlines
Southwest Airlines pilot hangs from window to retrieve passenger’s phone
Southwest Airlines pilot hangs from window to retrieve
During a Southwest Airlines flight in California, the crew at Long Beach Airport worked with the pilot of a departing aircraft to return a passenger’s phone through the cockpit window.
According to a Southwest spokeswoman, a passenger waiting to board a different flight observed a phone in the gate area while the aircraft was parked on the tarmac and about to take off. The plane had already departed the gate. The phone was subsequently presented to a Southwest operations representative by the traveller, who informed the representative that the owner of the device had already gotten on the taxiing aircraft.
According to a Facebook post published by Southwest earlier this week, the airport agents gave the phone to the ground staff, who “jumped it up” to the pilot while the jet was on the tarmac rather than throwing it in the lost-and-found or having it transported to the destination city of the trip.
The post also included a video that showed two ground crew members alternating attempts to pass the phone to the captain, who was leaning from the cockpit. Once the phone was safely in the pilot’s hand, passengers near the gate could be heard cheering.
“We love watching our Employees’ goodwill attempts to aid a fellow Passenger,” a Southwest spokesperson said. Hundreds of Southwest’s frequent customers commended the airline for assisting the phone-less traveller in reaction to the airline’s Facebook post.
