I can't help but wonder if some of the delay, not to mention the aggressiveness on the part of the pilots, wasn't done to "teach the guy a lesson". Silly, unnecessary, and, IMO, might be actionable. What do you think?
I think that these incidents are all part of the sorting out process. It's unfortunate that we can't shift gears more smoothly. It's pretty clear to me that the airline overreacted although I understand how they must feel being the objects of suspicion.
People have learned by now that you'll get rough treatment if you make cracks or even just statements about bombs, however innocent. People will have to learn not to say anything about loaded pilots, as well. Hopefully, this incident has triggered some thoughtful policy making on the part of the airlines for how to handle such things.
In this case, the pilot told the passengers why they were delayed. Do we know that he did so with derision? Or was he just telling them the reason for the delay, which IMO was a good idea. Otherwise they might think there was something wrong with the plane. The pilot was probably pissed, so his "explanation" probably might have had at least an edge to it if not actually derisive. It seems to me that the passengers had some reason to be annoyed at the guy for triggering the delay as well as at the airline for overreacting to it. The airline should probably apologize to the guy and make a clear statement of its policy on such things. As far as actionable, I wouldn't think so. |
