Southwest Airline’s meltdown across the US has caused carnage for tens of thousands of passengers trapped without their luggage.
But one person who may be rubbing their hands together is Joe Biden’s fired nuclear waste expert.
Social media users posted brutal memes mocking the chaos, saying Sam Brinton will be overjoyed that so many bags are ripe for the plucking.
It comes after the non-binary ex-staffer was accused of stealing two women’s handbags from airports, with them being arrested for one theft in Las Vegas.
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
Daily Signal editor-in-chief Katrina Trinko 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.’
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.’
One account shared a clip of a bag racing across an airstrip with the caption: ‘Are we sure it’s not trying to avoid Sam Brinton?’
Another replied to the post saying: ‘I thought this was Sam Brinton with his invisible suit on…’
One person posted a picture of the nuclear waste expert with the caption: ‘Sam Brinton is like a pig in sh*t this week!’
Another said on their page: ‘As for the luggage… Someone might want to check on Sam Brinton.’
Meanwhile one account posted: ‘If they didn’t fire Sam Brinton you’d already have your insurance check for stolen luggage.’
And another shared an image of bags piled up in Indianapolis saying: ‘Sam Brinton is probably on the way to have a look.’
One person jokingly said of the chaos across the country: ‘You just know Sam Brinton is behind this.’
One man said online: ‘Christmas comes early for Sam Brinton.’ While another wrote: ‘OMG has anyone notified Sam Brinton.’
One more added: ‘Southwest separated more luggage from passengers than Sam Brinton.’
It comes as luggage piled up across airports in the US, wreaking havoc for passengers trying to enjoy the holiday period.
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.
The airline’s CEO Bob Jordan posted an optimistic video message on Tuesday night but also apologized for the carnage.
He said: ‘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 after canceling 2,348 on Tuesday – bringing the two-day cancellation total to 5,000.
Ranking Member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Sam Graves told DailyMail.com in a statement 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.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan has repeatedly apologized to the Southwest customer and employee base. He said Tuesday night he is hopeful the company will be back on the right track before week’s end
Wheelchairs and caution tape have been set up as loose perimeters to surround the heaps of baggage from flights that won’t be taking off yesterday
A passenger at the St. Louis Lambert airport looks at rows and rows of Southwest passenger luggage at the baggage claim area on Wednesday morning, December 28
Assembled Southwest bags in LAX where they traveled to on Wednesday without any owners
In October, Brinton was accused of stealing a woman’s Vera Bradley suitcase on September 16 at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport from a baggage carousel.
Initially, they alleged they accidentally took the bag but it later emerged they had not checked in any baggage for the flight.
The nuclear scientist will appear in court in February 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.
Brinton was charged for the luggage theft earlier this year at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas that was captured on security footage
Brinton was laid off from their Department of Energy job after being accused of stealing luggage in two separate incidents at the Las Vegas airport and the Minneapolis airport
Brinton admitted to stealing a navy blue hard-sided Vera Bradley suitcase from the luggage carousel valued at $2,325 after previously lying to police and saying it was their luggage. Pictured: Brinton spotted heading to the airport on February 28