I know it has no correlation to an aircraft, and properly so, but I am from both railroad and seagoing families. From my grandfathers I am steeped in the lore of the absolute authority of the Conductor on trains, the Stationmaster in terminals and the ship Captains on water.
I have the brass knuckles of one of my grandfathers who was the Conductor on the first/last leg of an East Coast to/from Chicago overnight train. He and his assistants may have punched tickets, but the train did not move until he raised his hand and he had the power to apply the brakes at any time and literally remove a passenger from the train.
As an airline pax I have often heard lead CC use the PA mic to try to establish their "authority", usually citing "the Captain" and various government bodies. Obviously the CC cited by the OP cited neither!