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The A-list star addressed the snub on the Wednesday, Aug. 2, episode of his podcast "Armchair Expert."
Shepard and his wife, actress Kristen Bell, and the couple's two children were returning from a trip to Martha's Vineyard on July 26 when their flight was delayed. Then it was delayed again and again and again because of mechanical issues, which left them stranded at Boston Logan overnight.
With no hotels available within 50 miles of the airport, the family decided to hunker down in the terminal, but TSA agents kicked them out at 1 a.m. because it was against safety protocols.
Shepard said he was frustrated by the delays, but they made the most of it. Kristen Bell posted photos to her Instagram Stories of the family playing card games and chatting with friends as they waited. But when airport staff said they would have to go, Shepard said he was fed up with his "big, big adventure."
The family had taken a ferry ride from Martha's Vineyard and then rode on a bus for two hours to get to Boston Logan. He was exhausted and fed up, and he snapped at airport staff.
"I was willing to get arrested," Shepard told co-host Monica Padman.
They had already spent $600 on blankets, pillows, and toiletries in the terminal to create "quite a home" there, Bell posted to social media. Now, they were being told they had to leave without their luggage, which was on the plane.
“What could be the security threat if we’ve all passed through security?" he asked in the podcast. "There’s absolutely no reason we can’t sleep there.”
Luckily, the family secured space in the attic of a friend of a friend in Wellesley at 1:30 a.m. But their problems weren't over, he said.
The crew also couldn't find local accommodations, Shepard said. The pilots and flight attendants spent the night in a Rhode Island hotel, which meant they wouldn't be able to make the 8 a.m. takeoff time, he continued.
Their flight was delayed again. Thankfully, after 24 hours of waiting, the family was on their way home to Los Angeles.
Shepard said his daughters were “shockingly” calm through the ordeal, even if he was not.
But he said he was "blown away by the generosity" of his Wellesley hosts and the tenacity of everyone who was stuck.
“I’m really proud of everyone on the team," he said. "No one had a (bad) attitude about it.”
Click here to listen to Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast.
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