Passengers receive epic pep talk delivered by gate agent after brutal flight delay: ‘Don’t get smart with my flight attendants’

Flight delays are never fun — but one gate agent turned a cranky moment into a teachable one, and social media applauded her for it.

A video shared on Instagram shows an American Airlines gate agent addressing frustrated passengers whose flight was delayed eight hours.

The moment has since taken off online — and aviation expert Ben Schlappig is among those singing her praises.

Rather than stay silent, the gate agent walked into the terminal and addressed the irritated passengers head-on.

“When you get on that aircraft, let me tell y’all something,” she said. “Don’t get smart with my flight attendants.”

“Be nice to them,” she continued. “They have a hard day just like we do. The same aircraft that’s coming out, the same people that are on that aircraft, it’s the same people that have been waiting as long as you wait, or maybe longer. So, please, y’all, please, I’m asking, do it for me, be nice to them.”

Mid-speech, a baby crawled across the floor, prompting her to quip, “Hey, you on this floor. Nuh uh, now, where you going? Look, don’t be on that acting up, we know you’re gonna get all the attention.”

On his blog One Mile at a Time, Schlappig “So many gate agents are indifferent and seem like they don’t really care, while this woman obviously cares.”

He continued, “Let’s be clear, what she’s doing here is totally selfless. It doesn’t directly impact her how passengers behave toward the crew, but she’s trying to pay it forward, and look out for others.”

Schlappig said she “strikes the perfect tone,” and added, “like, if this were just some meek little talk, it wouldn’t work.”

“This woman is basically telling people how they need to behave, or else. And good for her, because I think she got the message across,” Schlappig added.

The gate agent certainly did — at least based on the response from viewers of the Instagram clip.

“She is so dope! I love her!! I enjoy her working my flights out of Birmingham Alabama! Extremely personable and genuine!” one commenter raved.

Another airport worker chimed in, “LOVE when we work as a team. It’s already so hard to work in this industry, it makes it even harder when we don’t work together. Loved her.”

One emotional user wrote, “This even made me cry here. Kudos to that gate agent!”

And another added, “That is a people person. Great job Ms Gate Agent. I know I worked for a Major Airline for 43 Years. I know what you’re up against.”

As Schlappig noted, passengers often “take out their frustration on crew members,” making it all the more heartwarming to see someone step up. 

“It’s nice to see people who care about their jobs, and others, as much as she does,” he wrote.