- A Thai Smile Airways flight was reportedly forced to turn back to the gate just before takeoff.
- A passenger on the Bangkok-bound flight caused a disturbance over a forgotten bag, Stuff reported.
A Bangkok-bound flight departing from Chiang Mai reportedly had to return to the gate moments before takeoff after a passenger became unruly over a bag he left at the airport.
Footage from Newsflare via the Associated Press, published by the New Zealand outlet Stuff, purportedly showed a disagreement between the passenger and a crew member on the flight, operated by budget airline Thai Smile Airways.
Thai Smile Airways did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
According to the report, while the Airbus A320 was taxiing for departure, the passenger shouted about leaving a bag of valuables including money at Chiang Mai International Airport.
In the footage, the flight attendant asked the passenger: "If you still feel like this, we have to move you off the flight, so do you want to go? Or do you want to wait until Bangkok?"
The man responded in the video: "Yes, yes, I want to go now. Ask the captain."
In the same video, the pilot could be heard announcing over the intercom system that the flight would return to the gate to disembark a passenger in the interest of safety, adding it could take about five to 10 minutes, apologizing for the delay.
The passenger in question can be seen being escorted off the plane in the footage, along with two others who appeared to be his travel companions. It's unclear if the man was arrested after being removed from the flight, according to the report from Newsflare via the AP.
Another passenger who was on board told Newsflare via the AP that the flight was about 45 minutes late and the man who caused the disturbance "was complaining that his bag with money and important things inside was still at the airport" and that "he wanted to collect it."
"It was very disruptive and they didn't care they were making other people late," the unnamed passenger said.
As USA Today reported, the flight eventually landed at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport after a short delay.
Disruptive passenger behavior is also an issue in the US
In recent years, there has been an uptick in disruptive passenger behavior on board flights in the US.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there have been 1,034 unruly passenger reports in the US as of July 16. The FAA says on its website that the data "reflects all cases the FAA investigated that cited violations of one or more FAA regulations or federal laws."
And while the number of unruly passenger reports is down by more than 80% from 2021 — when there was a record high of 5,793 incidents that year — the FAA says more work still needs to be done.
As Insider's Sebastian Cahill previously reported, alarming passenger behavior so far this year has included temper tantrums, bomb threats, and violence towards others on board.