An Alaska Airlines flight was grounded at Miami International Airport on Sunday after passengers allegedly threatened to take over the aircraft. The Seattle-bound jet, Flight 305, was taxiing down the runway at 6:40 p.m. when the pilot alerted Air Traffic Control to a customer disturbance.
"We have a customer disturbance onboard right now, with threats coming from customers," the pilot could be heard saying in audio obtained by ATCapp. "We want to go into a lockdown protocol. We are shutting down the engine and parking brake set."
Pilots are trained to initiate a lockdown protocol when the cockpit's integrity is threatened, keeping the cockpit doors sealed until the situation is resolved. Moments later, the pilot added that flight attendants had received threats from passengers, with one customer reportedly threatening to take the aircraft over.
Responding to a request from the pilot, deputies from the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office Airport District were seen responding to one of the gates. "Out of an abundance of caution, passengers were temporarily deplaned while deputies investigated the incident," the sheriff's office told Paddle Your Own Kanoo.
Authorities ultimately determined there was "no credible threat," and the two passengers involved were rebooked on another flight. All other passengers were allowed to reboard the Boeing 737, and the flight continued to Seattle, landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at 10 p.m.
Alaska Airlines confirmed that two passengers were disruptive during the aircraft's taxi. "The aircraft returned to the gate, where it was met by law enforcement, and the passengers were removed and temporarily banned from flying with us," a spokesperson for the airline stated. "The safety of our guests and crew is always our highest priority. We appreciate our employees' professionalism and apologize to our guests for the delay and inconvenience."
The incident occurred amid a general decline in unruly passenger incidents. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there have been 1,014 such incidents reported in 2026 as of the publication of this report. This represents a significant decrease from the 1,621 incidents reported in 2025 and a substantial drop from the record 5,973 incidents reported in 2021, many of which were linked to mask non-compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic.