Delta Passenger Finds No One At Help Desk—So He Takes Matters Into His Own Hands: ‘Is Delta Self-Checkout Now?’

A Delta Air Lines passenger struggled to get assistance at a help desk. So he took matters into his own hands by grabbing the mic and making an announcement to the entire terminal.

TikToker Marilyn Delgado (@marilyndelgado) filmed the man trying to get someone to come to Delta the gate to help him at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

One of her clips garnered 5.4 million views within three days. A second has received over 204,000 views as of this writing.

People are firmly on the man’s side. Several said Delta should hire him.

In her first clip, the man says into the microphone, “ Hi, Delta associates that aren’t paying attention… Please come to 30B. You have a customer waiting. Thank you. Delta, Delta, please come to 30B.”

The man makes multiple additional announcements to no apparent avail.

According to multiple comments, the man had been standing by the help desk near his gate for some time. Airport security reportedly eventually assisted him.

Delgado recorded a few snippets of the situation, adding, “@delta help this man,” in her caption. Delgado didn’t respond to a TikTok direct message seeking comment.

Is The Airline Industry In Trouble?

While enthused by the man’s antics, a few commenters were concerned about how long they had kept him waiting.

“The fact it took security as long as it did is wild,” one person said.

Another person said, “The airline industry is collapsing in front of our eyes.” Delta canceled around 400 flights between May 2 and May 3 due to staffing shortages and “internal operational failures,” which coincided with Spirit Airlines’ downfall.

Additionally, AsatuNews reports that there were over 600 reported flight delays when the man was seeking assistance at LAX. That situational failure is the primary reason why many people have been waiting for hours in airports across the country. 

Indirectly, though, a number of airlines have come under fire for decisions to make cuts to customer service, management, and corporate positions. A number of airlines have cut jobs, which can affect customer service.

In November, American Airlines cut over 5,000 management and support related roles. The roles are reportedly being outsourced to a new operations hub in Hyderabad, India. Southwest Airlines cut around 1,750 employee roles in “corporate overhead and leadership positions” in February 2025. 

While Delta Air Lines’ last major corporate layoff was in 2023, the trend arguably indicates that airlines are committed to reducing costs.

On Glassdoor, former employees claim that Delta has been “sold out to foreign management and outsourcing.” Delta didn’t respond to BoardingArea’s inquiry sent via press form on its website.

Recently, the airline announced that it would cut its food and beverage service from around 450 short flights. While that’s arguably a small change, critics have called the move an example of “late stage capitalism.

“Delta isn’t commenting either,” one person noted of Delgado’s posts.

@marilyndelgado @delta help this man. #LAX #DELTA #AIRPORT #30B ♬ Jackass theme – Saltyapple3