Southwest Flight Delayed Allegedly Over Spilled Rice in the Aisle

“The flight attendant screamed ‘who spilled rice?’ and is walking up and down the aisles," one passenger tweeted during the alleged incident

A Southwest flight from Atlanta to Houston was delayed last week after a flight attendant allegedly refused to let the plane take off until rice spilled in an aisle by a passenger was cleaned up.

Southwest Airlines passenger Jennifer Schaper wrote about the entire saga in several tweets on April 15, dubbing the incident #RiceGate.

Schaper claimed that she had just boarded the plane when someone spilled food in their aisle, which was noticed by a nearby flight attendant.

"The flight attendant screamed 'who spilled rice?' and is walking up and down the aisles. They are refusing to leave the gate until someone cleans the rice," Schaper tweeted, along with a photo of the spilled yellow rice on the cabin floor about two seats ahead of her position.

Schaper said in a follow-up tweet that the funny situation prompted her and other passengers in her row to have the "giggles," which made the flight attendant look at them "suspiciously."

In another tweet, she shared a video of the flight attendant making an announcement about the flight not taking off until the rice is cleaned. She also showed a shot of the fallen rice on the ground, which had been covered by flight staff with a paper towel at that point.

"We're gonna sweep up this rice so you don't have to walk through it and it won't be an eyesore," the flight attendant could be heard saying in the video.

Related:Southwest Airlines Pilot Makes Emergency Landing After Engine Fire Fills Cabin with Smoke

"We apologize, but again, I don't think you want to walk through it. So, let us take care of this at the gate before we leave. Thank you," she added.

In a fourth update, Schaper shared a photo of the broom and dustpan in the aisle as a flight attendant used it to clean up the rice.

"Update: Rice is getting cleaned but she is MAD. She has let us all know that we were not raised right and she is disappointed in all of us. #RiceGate," she tweeted.

Schaper claimed that the flight was further delayed when another passenger went to use the restroom as the rice was getting cleaned up, so the flight still couldn't "take off because she is not at her seat." She joked that her row mates nicknamed the flight "the Voyage of the Damned."

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It appeared that the plane took off after the delays, though Schaper noted that the flight staff "didn't give us beverage service" since there were a "few bumps" during the flight. She said she thought it was "punishment."

Southwest Airlines responded to her final tweet, writing: "We're sorry that our Crew was unable to provide onboard refreshments due to bumpy travel conditions. Safety is always our number one priority, but we hope that we can make it up to you next time! Thank you for bearing there with us, Jennifer."

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In an April 20 update, Schaper tweeted that she didn't spill the rice and though she believed that whoever did should have cleaned it up, she said "SWA staff was out of line in how they handled the situation and continued to delay an already delayed flight."

"The over-dramatization of the whole event made it more comical than anything," she added in a follow-up tweet that same day.

Southwest Airlines has not yet responded to PEOPLE's request for comment.

A spokesperson for Southwest told local Houston station KHOU-TV that it had not heard about the incident, but noted "our flight attendants do a tremendous job of ensuring the safety and comfort of our customers."

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