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4th June 2024
11:16am BST
A dad has explained how he managed to get himself and his family kicked off a plane thanks to a picture he took of them boarding the plane.
Father-of-two Jimmy Mitchell was flying from Sydney to Brisbane earlier this year when he took the snap on his phone of his family on the steps to the Jetstar plane.
However, minutes earlier there had been an announcement telling passengers not to use their phones on the tarmac as the plane was refuelling.
Mitchell had missed this as he was wearing noise-cancelling headphones at the time.
In a TikTok explaining what happened, Mitchell claimed that a member of staff called him an “idiot” for using his phone.
When he confronted her over her words, she claimed he was being “intimidating” and told him he was “not getting on this plane.”
The dad explained in the TikTok: “This is the worst experience I’ve ever had flying.
“I try and get on the plane, I take a photo of my kids as they get on the plane, in flight mode, and the lady calls me an idiot,’ he said.
“I turned around in disbelief because I was halfway up the stairs at this point. I basically stormed over to her and I was like: ‘Are you serious? What did you just call me?’
“If she had literally just said anything else, like ‘get off your phone’, I would have done it.
“Apparently, they made an announcement, but I had noise cancelling headphones, Pauline told me after the fact – I didn’t hear it, there was no notifications about it, there was no signage.”
@themothfamily It takes alot to get me revved up, but verbally abusing me in front of my wife and kids is my limit @Jetstar Australia Update to come once I find out what the heck is going on #jetstar #Australia #themothfamily #fulltimetravelfamily #aussiefamily #travelfamily #familyabroad ♬ original sound - Mitch's On The Horizon ✈️🏖️
When he confronted the member of staff, she told him he was not getting on the plane.
“I can see how she maybe felt I was being intimidating because I am a big guy and I am a loud guy,” he admitted. “She turns around to me and goes ‘you almost assaulted me, get off the tarmac, you’re not getting on this plane’.”
Mitchell went back inside to the terminal and after the situation had cooled down he was allowed to board the plane.
A spokesperson for Jetstar said the airline was reviewing the incident.
