Man in video attacking airport gate worker charged with battery, banned by airline

ATLANTA — A shocking viral video shows a man punching an airline worker and threatening others at the Atlanta airport.

Moments earlier the man had been removed from a plane just before it was about to take off.

The video posted by AtlUncensored shows the enraged man lunge a Southwest Airlines gate agent on Tuesday and punch him in the face.

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Other Southwest Airline workers jumped in to push away the attacker, who police identified as Courney Drummon.

Police said Drummond was aboard an aircraft scheduled to depart Tuesday morning, but he became unruly and refused to comply with flight attendants.

The plane returned to the gate and Drummond was escorted off, but he didn’t go quietly.

At one point, Drummon can be seen in the video taking off his shirt while screaming at airline workers.

Exactly what led to his violent outburst isn’t clear.

Channel’s 2′s Tom Regan spoke to travelers at Harstfield-Jackson International Airport about the shocking video.

“Oh that is not acceptable, that is not acceptable at all,” Veronica Wheeler said.

In recent months, dozens of videos have emerged showing passengers attacking airline workers, often over COVID-19 mask requirements. Last year, the FAA received more than 5,000 reports of unruly passengers.

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Many air travelers are sick of the belligerent behavior.

“You know the airlines can’t control what they are being forced to do. With the frustrations. They can’t control the weather. That’s part of the problem. People need to control themselves,” traveler Julia Bruggeman said.

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Police said Drummond was charged with battery and obstruction.

Southwest called the attack “inexcusable” and has banned him from flying the airline.

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