Passengers attack Southwest Airlines employee while boarding the plane to NYC

A passenger attacked a Southwest Airlines employee while boarding a plane in Dallas that was on its way to LaGuardia airport on Saturday afternoon, a report states.

The airline worker was hospitalized after the attack on Dallas Love Field Airport and police arrested the passenger, the WFAA reported, citing officials and police.

The unidentified passenger first had a “verbal quarrel” with a flight attendant in the back of the plane before confronting another airline worker in front of the plane and hitting the woman in the head, police said.

It was unclear what triggered the chaos.

“Southwest Airlines maintains a zero tolerance policy regarding any form of harassment or abuse and fully supports our employees in cooperating with local authorities regarding this unacceptable incident,”[ads1]; Southwest Airlines said in a statement to the news agency.

Airlines have experienced a wave of incidents involving unruly passengers during the COVID-19 pandemic, with thousands reporting to the Federal Aviation Administration.