A couple has gone viral for accusing American Airlines staff of keeping them from their dogs after their flight was delayed.
The married couple from Florida, identified by the DailyMail as 42-year-old Dustin Miller and 40-year-old Anthony Thorne, were recently filmed during a public outburst at Charlotte Douglas Airport. In the since-deleted video, which was initially shared on TikTok, Miller could be seen yelling: “American Airlines f***ed us over!”
The clip began with Miller angrily speaking to American Airlines staff as his husband, holding a Louis Vuitton bag, urged Miller to “remember your girls” - later revealed to be their pet dogs, Shelby and Dolly.
“You don’t care about the girls, you don’t care about the girls,” Thorne reiterated, seemingly trying to calm down Miller. However, the Fort Lauderdale-based accountant announced to fellow passengers at the gate: “Hello, everybody! American Airlines f***ed us over!”
His husband then repeated the names of their pet dogs, saying: “Shelby and Dolly. Shelby and Dolly. Shelby and Dolly, remember them. I’m just trying to get home to the girls.”
Towards the end of the video, Miller could be seen yelling expletives at a woman sitting in a wheelchair, who was also waiting to board the flight to Fort Lauderdale. The woman appeared to tell the couple to “go away,” to which Miller replied: “F*** off, bitch.”
American Airlines flight AA321 from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was delayed and ultimately cancelled on 27 December, according to FlightAware. A subsequent flight took off from Charlotte later that day at 11.08pm ET, landing in Fort Lauderdale the following morning at 1.03am ET.
“Flight AA321 from CLT to FLL was first delayed and ultimately cancelled last night so they did not make it home to the girls,” one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, where the deleted TikTok was reposted.
Miller works as an accountant at Sykes & Company, according to his LinkedIn. He has been married to Thorne for nine years and they reside in Wilton Manors, Florida. Thorne works as an executive senior associate at healthcare consulting firm Rudish Health in Fort Lauderdale, his LinkedIn states. The couple recently celebrated their nine-year wedding anniversary, the DailyMail reported.
It’s possible the names Shelby and Dolly are in reference to the 1989 movie Steel Magnolias, in which one of the characters, played by Julia Roberts, is named Shelby and Dolly Parton plays the part of Truvy Jones.
The Independent has contacted American Airlines for comment.
