(NewsNation) — A Southwest Airlines pilot threatened to turn back to the gate after a traveler sent a naked photo to other passengers on the plane through Apple’s AirDrop file transfer service.
CNN reported that the incident involved a flight from the William P. Hobby airport in Houston, Texas, to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.
Passenger Teighlor Marsalis took a video of the pilot’s announcement, which has gotten millions of views and over 151,000 likes on TikTok.
“So here’s the deal, if this continues while we’re on the ground I’m going to have to pull back to the gate, everybody’s going to have to get off, we’re going to have to get security involved and … vacation is going to be ruined,” the pilot said in the video. “So you folks, whatever that AirDrop thing is, quit sending naked pictures and let’s get yourself to Cabo.”
CNN reports that Marsalis said she and her friends had just boarded the plane when she and some people around her received an AirDrop notification. Though Marsalis told CNN she declined the file, the two women in front of her accepted it and showed her the photo, which was of a nude man. Another woman Marsalis saw was upset by the photo, and alerted a flight attendant.
According to CNN, Marsalis said the pilot was professional and handled the situation well.
Southwest Airlines provided a statement to Nexstar, but declined to share further details or confirm whether any passengers were barred from flying with them in the future.
“The safety, security and wellbeing of customers and employees is the Southwest Team’s highest priority at all times,” the airline wrote. “When made aware of a potential problem, our employees address issues to support the comfort of those traveling with us.”
The AirDrop feature is available on Apple’s iOS devices. It allows users to share photos videos or files with other Apple devices within Bluetooth and Wifi range, even if the sender doesn’t have their contact information.
Nexstar Media Wire contributed to this story.