Staff refused to let plane take off until passenger cleaned up their mess

21 April 2023 , 16:38

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The incident unfolded on a Southwest Airlines flight (Image: AP)

Passengers were stuck on the tarmac until a customer cleaned up after themselves.

A flight attendant "refused to let a plane take off" after spotting a big mess on the floor in the aisle, a passenger onboard the flight claimed.

Earlier this month the Southwest Airlines flight was delayed after someone onboard spilled rice on the floor.

An image shared on social media showed a large pile of rice - far more than one might expect would tumble to the floor during a regular lunch sitting.

Jennifer Schaper was on the plane and shared a photo of spilled rice in the aisle, claiming that a flight attendant subsequently walked up and down the aisle asking for the culprit to come forward.

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Jennifer shared a picture of the rice (@jenschap/Twitter)

At one point it was covered with a paper towel (@jenschap/Twitter)

She claimed that staff refused to leave the gate until someone had cleaned it, but nobody was stepping forward.

In a later tweet Jennifer said that the flight attendant relented and cleaned up the rice herself, but was "MAD" about having to do so.

"She has let us all know that we were not raised right and she is disappointed in all of us," the passenger wrote.

Southwest Airlines wrote in the thread: "We're sorry that our Crew was unable to provide onboard refreshments due to bumpy travel conditions.

"Safety is always our number one priority, but we hope that we can make it up to you next time! Thank you for bearing there with us, Jennifer."

The question of whose responsibility it is to clear up messes on planes is a hot one this month.

One man was recently outraged after a flight attendant left his 22-week pregnant wife to get on her h'ands and knees' to clean up after their toddler.

Anthony Bass with his wife and children (anthonyebass/Instagram)

Sydney's daughter had dropped popcorn on the floor (@AnthonyBass52/Twitter)

However, people were unimpressed and backed the United Airlines crew. "Genuinely curious who should clean up the mess your 2 year old made?" one user asked. "As a parent of three kids I am the one responsible for them."

A former flight attendant agrees and said she doesn't believe it's cabin crew's responsibility to clean - but neither is it passengers' either.

She told MailOnline: "Crew are not paid to clean and neither are the parents responsible to clean. The airline employs cleaners who come on board once the passengers have all disembarked."

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The former airline worker also said that she blames 'bad parenting' when it comes to children making messes on flights, usually because it's down to the snacks that they're being given.

Milo Boyd