In a dramatic act of protest, a pair of passengers took their frustration with Delta Airlines to a new level by raiding the airline’s VIP lounge after experiencing significant flight delays. Their bold antics, which included loading up on free food, emptying hand sanitizer dispensers, and more, have captured widespread attention online.
A video documenting the escapade has garnered over 600,000 views on TikTok. Content creator Kyle Philippi, who posted the footage, captioned it, “POV: Delta doesn’t compensate for thousands of dollars lost from delaying our flights for days so we gonna get it back in the Sky Club. This will set them back.”
The video’s timing seems to align with last week’s Microsoft outage, which led to Delta canceling thousands of flights and affecting approximately half a million passengers, according to the AP.
The footage opens with Philippi and an accomplice filling their plates with an excessive array of complimentary food at Delta’s Sky Club lounge. They proceed to pour out bottles of wine, steal magazines, and squeeze all the hand sanitizer from its dispenser. The video concludes with Philippi running water in the lounge’s shower, without using it for bathing, and emptying the shampoo and soap onto the floor.
According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, flight delays disrupted the travel plans of 11 lakh passengers by May this year, costing airlines nearly Rs 13 crore in compensation. In 2023, 22.51 lakh passengers were affected, with over INR 26.53 crore spent. Various factors such as weather and technical issues contributed to these delays. Minister Murlidhar Mohol provided these insights.
Despite the clear act of defiance, the TikTok community has largely supported the duo’s actions. Comments praising Philippi and his partner have been abundant, with one user saying, “I won’t lie, pouring the wine out went hard.” Another praised, “This is the level of petty we strive for,” and a third added, “As a Sky Lounge connoisseur, I am humbled by your greatness.”
Philippi responded to supporters, saying, “This is for the people,” reflecting the sentiments of those who feel wronged by the airline.The Post has reached out to Delta Airlines for a response. US regulators are currently investigating the reasons behind Delta’s prolonged recovery from the global outage, which has intensified scrutiny of the airline’s operational procedures.
