Southwest Explains Why a Flight Attendant Was Spotted in the Overhead Bin

Part of being a flight attendant is learning how to deal with the unexpected. But sometimes you’ve just got to be the unexpected part of the flight yourself.

On Monday, passengers on board a Southwest flight from Nashville to Atlanta were surprised to discover one of their flight attendants had hoisted herself into the overhead compartment and was greeting them from the space normally reserved for carry-on luggage.

In a statement, Southwest confirmed that the wacky and whimsical behavior was simply the flight attendant taking part in employee culture.

“Southwest Employees are known for demonstrating their sense of humor and unique personalities,” the airline said in a statement. “In this instance, one of our Flight Attendants attempted to have a brief moment of fun with Customers during boarding. Of course, this is not our normal procedure, and Southwest Crews always maintain Safety as their top priority.”

The passenger who posted the video online told Fox News she was “perplexed” by the flight attendant’s behavior, saying she was in the overhead bin for about 10 minutes during boarding. But once she climbed out of overhead storage, she was “very nice” for the remainder of the flight, according to the passenger.

Southwest flight attendants are known for their light-hearted pre-takeoff antics, including “sexy” safety speeches, “Looney Tunes” themed landing speeches or taking their opportunity on the loudspeaker to test out some stand-up comedy material.

Earlier this year, the airline was rated one of the best companies to work for — perhaps due, in part, to its fun-loving atmosphere.