'It's so overcrowded': Passenger reveals she has ‘never felt so unsafe’ after travelling on American Airlines flight from Fresno to Dallas with just a handful of empty rows

Shocking footage has emerged showing a packed American Airlines flight filmed by a passenger who said she 'never felt so unsafe in her life'. 

The clip was uploaded to social media by user Tammy Gonzalez, who was on the American Air flight from Fresno in California to Dallas in Texas.

The 1,600mile trip usually takes around three hours on an American Airlines plane. 

Gonzalez, who is on the left side of the plane, pans the camera around to reveal the crowded carrier is packed full of passengers as they watch TV and play on their phones. 

There do not appear to be any empty seats captured in the footage, and some passengers, including a man behind her, were seen without face masks. 

That is despite the Airline releasing a statement on May 11 saying that all passengers are required wear face coverings.  

Gonzalez can be heard voicing her frustrating and says: 'It's so overcrowded'.  

'Apparently airlines are exempt from CDC guidelines for social distancing. All rows with the exception of maybe four rows were completely full of passengers', swhe posted on Twitter.  

'I've never felt so unsafe in my life'. 

American Airlines responded to the tweet: 'We’re working hard to create more space by limiting the number of customers on each flight. We'll share your feedback with the right team.' 

User Tammy Gonzalez claimed 'all rows' with the exception of 'maybe four' were full of passengers

In a separate statement released to Storyful, the company said that 28 seats on the flight were not occupied as part of social distancing measures.

'The aircraft was not at max capacity.

'As part of this limit, American will not assign 50 percent of main cabin middle seats or seats near flight attendant jump seats on every flight, and will only use those middle seats when necessary. 

'Gate agents will also continue to reassign seats to create more space between customers or to accommodate families who need to be seated together.' 

Social distancing on airplanes has become a topic of debate as airlines look to revive passenger numbers while ensuring safety for both travellers and workers.   

The US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week urged airlines to maintain at least one seat between all passengers and cap seating at 67 per cent of capacity on narrow-body airplanes.

The airline responded to the video footage and said they are 'limiting the number of customers on each flight'

But the global industry's main group the International Air Transport Association said airlines will not be able to make a profit if they limit airplanes to two-thirds of their normal capacity, unless they drastically increased airfares.  

US airlines have also intensified cabin cleaning protocols, in many cases using electrostatic cleaning and fogging procedures. 

They have also endorsed temperature screenings by the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), though this has yet to be implemented. 

While major U.S. airlines' middle seat policies differ, all require passengers to wear facial coverings and all have slashed flying schedules by as much as 90 per cent in an effort to stem a cash bleed amid withering demand.