An out-of-breath mess in the form of Britney Spears almost had a coronary when she discovered she might miss her flight from Miami back to Los Angeles on Friday afternoon.

Lugging two small bags, the twenty-five year old former pop icon sprinted through Miami International Airport to catch her American Airlines flight. Upon arriving at the gate, Brit handed her boarding pass to the ticket agent and was informed that the walkway had been retracted from the plane and the flight was closed.

“She was really upset,” says David Paulsen, a passenger at an adjoining gate. “She (said) to the agent, ‘I’ve got to get on this plane to get home to my kids.’ She looked like she was about to cry.”

The ticket agent bought the BS, called the pilot and BS was allowed on the flight.

She told the pilot, “‘I’ve got Britney Spears here and she wants to get on the plane,’” D.P says. After a pause, the agent said, “‘No, I’m serious. Can we get her on the plane?’” A few seconds later, the agent smiled and nodded to Brit, and the walkway was extended again.

Because the flight was nearly full, Britney had no available seat in first class. Instead, the singer took a seat in the last row of coach.

Well, it’s no wonder she hacked off her hair. Sitting in coach is enough to drive anyone bald.

An American Airlines spokesperson tells PEOPLE that it’s not unusual for the airline to allow late arrivals on the plane as long as it won’t delay the flight. The final decision is left up to the cockpit crew and gate agents.

Britney stopped to give an autograph to the agent, and then turned to the crowd of onlookers and waved. “God bless!” she said as she got on the plane and headed towards home.