MIAMI – Two women were arrested Tuesday at Miami International Airport after they got into an altercation with an employee from Frontier Airlines, authorities said.
News 6 partner WPLG-TV reported that Janaeah Negash, 21, and Makyan Mercer, 20, who celebrated her birthday on Sunday, were arrested Tuesday morning.
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According to Miami-Dade police, the women got into an argument with a check-in agent at Terminal F just after 9:30 a.m. because they weren’t allowed to board their flight since they were 45 minutes late and the flight doors were already closed.
Police said the argument escalated and one of the women threw a plastic sign holder at the airline employee, causing a cut to the employee’s face.
An officer allegedly witnessed the incident and tried to take the woman into custody, but the second woman placed herself in between the officers and her friend, interfering with the arrest.
The victim was transported to a nearby hospital to be treated for facial injuries.
Negash and Mercer were both arrested and transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. They have both since bonded out of jail.
Frontier Airlines released the following statement Wednesday:
“Yesterday, at the Frontier ticket counter at Miami International Airport, two customers approached the counter to check in for their flight after the designated cut-off time for check-in. They became aggressive, with one of the customers physically assaulting a team member who subsequently required medical treatment.
“We are providing our full support to the injured team member and are appalled by the conduct of the two customers who were ultimately arrested. Both will be permanently banned from flying with us in the future.”