Airline Blasts Back After Alec Baldwin's Online Rant

The star of '30 Rock' and dozens of television commercials was recently removed from an American Airlines flight in Los Angeles, and then got into a Twitter sparring match with the airline.

Actor Alec Baldwin was reportedly playing an online game "Words With Friends" he says while sitting at the gate waiting for the plane to push back. Baldwin's publicist practically tried to make it a commercial for the game, saying in a statement that the actor was "willing to leave a plane for it."

Baldwin, however, was more direct in his Tweets. “Flight attendant on American reamed me out 4 playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving,” he said, adding “Last flight w American. Where retired Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950’s find jobs as flight attendants.”

The Washington Post reports that Baldwin and his spokesperson entered into the "damage control" after another passenger on the flight Tweeted that the plane had to return to the gate so that Baldwin could be escorted off the plane. "Terrible that everyone had to wait,” the passenger said.

Then American got into the fray, posting a statement on its Facebook page and alerting the airline's followers on Twitter.

“Since an extremely vocal customer has publicly identified himself as being removed from an American Airlines flight on Tuesday, Dec. 6, we have elected to provide the actual facts of the matter as well as the FAA regulations which American, and all airlines, must enforce.

"Cell phones and electronic devices are allowed to be used while the aircraft is at the gate and the door is open for boarding. When the door is closed for departure and the seat belt light is turned on, all cell phones and electronic devices must be turned off for taxi-out and take-off.

"This passenger declined to turn off his cell phone when asked to do so at the appropriate time. The passenger ultimately stood up (with the seat belt light still on for departure) and took his phone into the plane’s lavatory. He slammed the lavatory door so hard, the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed, even with the cockpit door closed and locked. They immediately contacted the cabin crew to check on the situation.

"The passenger was extremely rude to the crew, calling them inappropriate names and using offensive language. Given the facts above, the passenger was removed from the flight and denied boarding.”

And isn't it grand that, thanks to social media, we all get to know about it. The LA Times reports that Baldwin's Twitter account was deleted following the dustup with the airline.

FMI: www.american.com, www.twitter.com