The Nashville International Airport (BNA) issued an apology for flight cancellations and an incident involving airport police and passengers on Christmas Day.
Stranded Southwest Airlines passengers gathered at a ticket counter to inquire about their delayed flights at BNA. In a video posted to social media, the passengers were seen being confronted by a Nashville airport policeman who threatened arrests on the group for “trespassing,” according to Fox Business.
The outlet further reports that Southwest Airlines said in a statement that its employees “sometimes call on law enforcement officers to assist with crowd control efforts during irregular operations such as this week’s operational challenges.”
Nashville airport police threatens to arrest stranded passengers pic.twitter.com/X9z3z6CNqh
— IAMJORDAN TV (@iamjordanpdx) December 29, 2022
Calling the incident “unfortunate,” BNA further stated, “The extraordinary number of flight cancellations over the last week caused great stress for our travelers, and included an unfortunate incident involving a passenger, airline staff, and a BNA officer. We are deeply sorry that this occurred and have taken this situation to heart.”
BNA added, “We are working with Southwest Airlines, and our other carriers, to foster better communication among team members so that every traveler enjoys the optimal experience at BNA.”
— Fly Nashville (@Fly_Nashville) December 30, 2022
In regards to the “1,372 canceled flights impacting approximately 160,000 passengers” at BNA, the airport continued in its statement, saying, “The BNA team worked around the clock as the events unfolded. We are deeply sorry that the flight cancellations caused so much heartache for travelers, especially during this holiday season. We regret that travelers did not receive timely and consistent information prior to and during their visit to Nashville International Airport.”
This week, Southwest Airlines announced that it has resumed its “full schedule of flights with minimal interruptions” and is refunding passengers for canceled and “substantially delayed” flights from December 24 to January 2, as well as alternative rearrangement costs upon request.
Customers disrupted by our operational challenges who have questions about flight refunds, alternative travel arrangement reimbursements, or locating displaced luggage, please follow the link below.
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) December 31, 2022
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Nashville International Airport” by Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.
Jan 6 protesters didn’t get an apology from over zealous police. I smell politics.