‘Not everyone is unhappy about Southwest delays!’ Social media users are poking plenty of fun at Joe Biden‘s recently fired nuclear waste czar Sam Brinton after they were fired after being accused of stealing luggage at airports in two separate instances.
Their firing came a week before Southwest Airlines landed their customers in utter chaos in airports across the country as bags traveled to different cities but their owners didn’t.
The chaos at Southwest is a combination of adverse weather and the collapse of its internal crew scheduling software due to the amount of changed flights.
Some though, can see the funny side, pointing out that the idea of mountains of unattended luggage would seem like a Christmas wish come true for Brinton.
Among those who joined in the fun was Daily Signal editor-in-chief Katrina Trinko who tweeted: ‘Nothing like trying to guess which carousel southwest put your baggage from your cancelled flight on… and then realizing you live in the same town as Sam Brinton.’
The official Twitter account for Talk Radio 570 KVI in Seattle tweeted from its official account: ‘Stay vigilant out there folks, people like Sam Brinton can easily blend in and steal your bags!’
The satirical news outlet, The Babylon Bee, posted an article on Wednesday titled: ‘Airports Forced To Hire Extra Security To Guard Thousands Of Stranded Bags From Sam Brinton.’
A quote from the piece reads: ‘We are still trying to secure a location for Brinton, but they is on the loose – as of now, we cannot guarantee the safety of your bags if they are not physically on your person.’
In October 2022, Sam Brinton was accused of stealing a woman’s Vera Bradley suitcase on September 16 at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport from a baggage carousel
Assembled Southwest bags in LAX where they traveled to on Wednesday without any owners
In October 2022, Brinton was accused of stealing a woman’s Vera Bradley suitcase on September 16 at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport from a baggage carousel.
Initially, Brinton alleged that he accidentally took the bag but it later emerged that they had not checked in any baggage for the flight. The nuclear scientist will appear in court in February 2023 and could face five years in prison if convicted on larceny charges.
In a separate incident, Brinton is accused of stealing a different woman’s luggage from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. They appeared in court earlier this month on those charges and was freed on a $15,000 bail. Brinton will appear in court again in the case in January and could face 10 years in that case.
A security footage image showed Brinton walking through Harry Reid International Airport with the luggage during the summer.
The $320 case, which was lifted from a carousel, was stuffed with more than $3,000-worth of jewelry, clothes and makeup, according to 8 News Now Investigators.
It is unclear why they targeted the suitcase or if it was because it was from a luxury brand.
Following the Southwest chaos, the airline’s CEO Bob Jordan posted an optimistic video message on Tuesday night, saying: ‘Our plan for the next few days is to fly a reduced schedule and reposition our people and planes. We are making headway and we are optimistic to be back on track before next week.’
Despite this, Southwest Airlines already canceled 2,507 flights on Wednesday morning after canceling 2,348 on Tuesday – bringing the two-day cancellation total to nearly 5,000.
Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Sam Graves told DailyMail.com in a statement that he is in contact with Southwest Airlines and ‘monitoring their efforts to get passengers moving again.’
‘Severe weather is beyond anyone’s control, but it’s clear that the widespread disruptions we have seen go beyond normal delays,’ Graves said. ‘The right thing to do is to ensure that customers have full access to refunds and reimbursements for hotels, food, and alternative travel costs – and that appears to be Southwest’s intent.’
‘There’s nothing more frustrating than being stranded and delayed in reaching your final destination, whether that’s to see family for the holidays or return home safely,’ he added.
Graves says he ‘expects [Southwest] to do everything possible to make their loyal customers whole.’
Besides delays and cancellations, passengers are also frustrated with baggage hold ups. Some are seeing their luggage stranded at other airports, while others have to wait in massive lines to obtain their suitcases that were checked.
