"The flight attendant is usually inside the aircraft at the top of the stairs. It's quite possible that the FA and ramp workers did not witness "the toss" and were only aware of the situation after it was reported by another passenger and after the recipient of "the toss" had boarded."
Maybe I should be more clear. They knew. Airport workers spoke to the offenders, a Delta employee was right there, and people just behind me told the flight attendant as we boarded. There were many Delta employees around because there were a number of passengers in wheelchairs that were going up the ramp to the airplane.
"I still maintain that if the OP was so concerned about safety he should have exited the aircraft and demanded to be rebooked the following day especially since he knew he would miss his connecting flight in Atlanta anyway."
There was no way to know that I would miss my connection. There was no way to know that the process would take two hours while we waited for those people to be allowed to board again.
We were not permitted to stand-up during the two-hour delay, much less leave the plane. The flight attendants were very clear we were not to move. Somehow, that would have constituted a security threat.
At any rate, I think your mistake is assuming that Delta is not at all responsible for securing their planes. Even if I could have gotten off the plane, which I highly doubt, it does not mitigate Delta's responsibility. They were aware of the situation and allowed the people to board anyway.
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