An airline pilot threatened to abort a plane's take off after a man started sending nude pictures to other people on the flight.
Passengers on board the Southwest Airlines flight from William P. Hobby Airport in Houston to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico grew concerned after explicit photographs showing a man's genitals began displaying on their iPhones.
The offending item had been sent to a number of phones on board from someone using the AirDrop feature, which allows iPhone users to share files and images with people nearby.
Teighlor Marsalis, who was on the flight, told US media she had just rejected a notification from the app when she heard two women sat in front of her suddenly react to the photos, who ended up showing her what they had been sent.
After seeing another lady become upset she raised the alarm with flight attendant, who the informed the pilot of the situation.
Addressing all passengers on board in an announcement, the pilot then vowed to stop the plane from taking off and send everyone back to the gate unless the perpetrator stopped sending the pictures.
Checks were also made on the wellbeing passengers by flight attendants in the aftermath. No one is reported to have been arrested in connection with the incident.
A video of the pilot's message has since gone viral on TikTok, where he can be heard saying: “If this continues while we’re on the ground I’m going to have to pull back to the gate, everybody’s going to have to get off, we’re going to have to get security involved and vacation is going to be ruined.
“So you folks, whatever that AirDrop thing is, quit sending naked pictures and let’s get yourself to Cabo.”
Many commenters praised the actions of the pilot, who was judged positively for his firm approach on the harassment.
A statement from Southwest Airlines said: “The safety, security and wellbeing of customers and employees is the Southwest team’s highest priority at all times”
“When made aware of a potential problem, our employees address issues to support the comfort of those travelling with us.”
iPhone users wishing to avoid receiving unprovoked notifications from others can change their settings to turn off the AirDrop feature altogether or restrict connectivity to people within their contacts book.
