A member of the armed forces was trying to board his Frontier Airlines flight from Georgia to his military base when he encountered two corrupt gate agents who were asking for a bribe to let him board the flight.
Demonta Roach, a US Navy member, said that two Frontier Airlines gate agents tried to shake him down for $50. He recounted his story to a WSB, a local ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia, and shared the video he captured of the incident.
On Veterans Day, Roach was flying back to his military base in Los Angeles out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
The flight was delayed for a bit, so Roach grabbed a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant from the gate where his flight was set to board.
Unfortunately for Roach, he was a little late when returning to the gate, which is when the predatory gate agents pounced.
When Roach arrived, one of the gate agents closed the door to the jetbridge. They told him, “I don’t care who you report to. If you want to get back on this plane, you have to pay me.”
According to Roach, the agent asked for $50, which was originally $100, but they were kind enough to give him a military discount. The woman said to him, “I don't give a damn what you're in, as long as you have my damn money.”
While Roach was running late and was the last person to board the aircraft, he insisted that the final board call was not made. Different airlines have different policies, and Frontier requires the gate agents to close the doors 20 minutes before departure.
Roach then began recording the altercation. However, it didn't seem to dissuade their behavior.
In the video, the staffers ask Roach to pay the amount via Cash App. When he repeatedly avoided paying, one of the agents said, "'You trying to get home or you trying to get left?"
When the veteran asked if this is how they make their money, one of the staffers said that this is how she makes her weed money and the money to do her nails.
The agents then tried to scare Roach further by claiming they could remove him and have him flagged from the airline if he didn't pay up.
Roach finally managed to board the aircraft after he pretended to send the employees the money. He said it is obvious that these employees have carried out this scam multiple times, which is worrying as they are taking advantage of vulnerable people. My has contacted the airline for a statement and an update on the employees.
Frontier said in a statement to WSB:
“We take claims like this seriously, and our team is in the process of investigating the situation to determine what happened. In the meantime, we have offered the customer a voucher for $150 as a customer service gesture.”
It is unclear how long this has been going on and if complaints about similar situations have been sent to the airline. Frontier Airlines was named America's worst airline last year due to the large number of complaints it received. The airline received 33 complaints for every 100,000 passengers, over twice that of Spirit Airlines, which was voted the second-worst airline in the US.
