Toronto Airport gate agent does dance routine to signal plane take-off

Jahmaul Allen calls himself the 'YYZ dancer'

Working at an international airport during the busy Christmas period usually isn’t cause for celebration.

Not so for Jahmaul Allen, a ramp agent who was filmed dancing at Toronto Pearson International Airport while directing an aircraft to the runway for take-off.

For frequent fliers in and out of Canada's busiest airport, the self-styled “YYZ dancer” is a familiar sight, as he regularly dances on the tarmac to entertain aircraft passengers.

In a video shared by a passenger, Allen was captured jumping around on the tarmac before waving the illuminated orange batons, which are used to signal the plane out of its parking stand, over his head.

The 28-year-old works for American Airlines at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

The video of him dancing was shared by passenger @ekaterina_irko on Instagram, where it has been watched more than 8,000 times.

“I would say I do it every now and then, whenever I feel like the mood to dance and whenever I want to make someone happy on the plane,” Allen told Canada’s Global News.

In a Twitter post, Allen added that his dance moves on the tarmac are safe, and that he is not disrupting the pilots while dancing.

“I just love what I do," he added.

Earlier this year, a pilot for easyJet was filmed dancing in the cockpit with an animated owl superimposed onto the screen. It went viral and easyJet said it would investigate the incident.