Air travel is a hot mess. Here are 7 of the most chaotic, head-scratching stories from this summer.
Lauren Edmonds
- Chaos plagued airlines and flights this summer.
- One passenger made headlines for experiencing diarrhea on a Delta Airlines flight.
Chaos plagued air travel this summer.
While unexpected cancellations and delays created a stressful summer for many, some reports went beyond long security lines or missing luggage.
Here are seven times travelers and crew were accused of misbehaving on planes this summer.
In June, authorities arrested a flight attendant on suspicion of making a bomb threat to stop her ex-boyfriend and his new lover from flying to Miami.
In June, Argentinian newspaper La Nacion reported that a flight attendant with Aerolíneas Argentinas made a bomb threat before a Miami-bound flight on May 21.
The outlet reported that federal judge Federico Villena identified the flight attendant as Daniela Carbone, and said she made the threat with her daughter's cell phone and used voice distortion software to hide her identity.
Clarín, an Argentinian newspaper, said Carobone's ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend worked as cabin crew on the flight. Argentina's Airport Security Police arrested Carobine at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires on charges of aggravated coercion, public intimidation, and hindering public service. Carbone faces six years in jail if found guilty, the outlet reported.
Representatives for Aerolíneas Argentinas did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
An Air India passenger behaved in a "repulsive manner" and reportedly defecated on the plane's floor during a flight later that month.
A man was arrested during a flight from Mumbai to New Delhi after urinating and defecating on an Air India plane's floor mid-flight, outlets including The Independent and The Times of India reported.
An Air India spokesperson did not share specifics with Insider but confirmed in a statement that a passenger "behaved in a repulsive manner, causing discomfort to the co-passengers."
"In doing their best to manage the situation in the circumstances, the crew immediately secluded the passenger for the rest of the flight and issued a warning. The passenger was handed over to the security personnel upon landing in Delhi," the spokesperson added.
Also in June, an Alaska Airlines passenger had to be restrained and sedated after trying to fight.
According to an affidavit filed in the US District Court for the District of Alaska, a man was heard screaming in the bathroom before punching the door open and approaching the cockpit with "drool and foam coming out of his mouth."
A flight attendant told prosecutors he blocked the man's advances and asked for a medical expert on board for help. A nurse suggested administering Narcan, which treats drug overdoses, but this caused the man to become combative.
The affidavit said the man "tried to punch and push on people and grab onto them. Three male passengers got up from their seats and came up to the front of the plane to assist."
The man was handcuffed and given sedation medication, according to the affidavit. He told witnesses he was having a panic attack, not an overdose.
The unnamed man faces several charges, including simple assault within the maritime and territorial jurisdiction.
"We do not comment on incidents involving pending litigation," a representative for Alaska told Insider. "We are extremely thankful to our crew members on board Alaska Airlines Flight 183 on June 24 who kept other passengers safe and calm during a troubling situation."
A United Airlines pilot received a six-month prison sentence in July after arriving on a transatlantic flight "staggering" with "glassy" eyes.
According to French newspaper Le Parisien, a United Airlines pilot showed up to work under the influence of alcohol and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.132%, which is three times the Federal Aviation Administration's limit.
The Local reported that the 63-year-old American pilot told a French court that he only drank two glasses of wine the night before, but authorities said the pilot was "showing signs of obvious drunkenness" when he arrived for work at 3 p.m. on July 23.
"He was staggering slightly, his eyes were glassy, and his mouth pasty," a police officer told The Local. The outlet added that the pilot was fined 4,500 euros and his pilot license was suspended for a year in addition to his prison sentence.
A United Airlines spokesperson told Insider: "The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority. We hold all our employees to the highest standards and have a strict no-tolerance policy for alcohol. This employee was immediately removed from service and we are fully cooperating with local authorities."
In August, a drunken family argument turned violent, forcing a Ryanair flight to make an emergency landing.
Authorities told the Scottish Sun and Canarian Weekly in August that a Ryanair flight was en route to the Canary Islands from Edinburgh, Scotland, when two male family members began "beating each other." The outlets reported that the drunken brawl forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in Faro, Portugal, where authorities waited.
"This flight from Edinburgh to Gran Canaria (04 Aug) diverted to Faro after a small number of passengers became disruptive onboard," a representative for Ryanair told Insider. "Crew called ahead for police assistance and the passengers were removed from the aircraft by local police before this flight continued safely to Gran Canaria. We sincerely apologize to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of these passenger's disruptive behavior."
Two Swiss Air flight attendants were filmed taking selfies on the wing of a Boeing 777.
In August, a video purportedly showing two Swiss Air flight attendants taking selfies on a plane wing hit social media. The video, shared by Breaking Aviation News & Videos on X, formerly known as Twitter, appeared to show a female flight attendant doing different poses before being joined by a male colleague. No passengers were on the plane at the time.
A representative for Swiss Air told Insider that they condemned the "life-threatening" behavior.
"What looks like fun in the video is actually life-threatening," Michael Pelzer told Insider. "The wings of a Boeing 777 are at a height of about five meters [16.4 feet]. Moreover, after landing, even in high temperatures, the wings may be covered with ice. A fall from that height onto the hard surface can be devastating."
Pelzer added that the airline contacted the flight attendants in question.
A flight was forced to turn around after a passenger "had diarrhea all the way through" a Delta Airlines plane.
While not explicitly misbehaving, one of the summer's most talked-about airplane incidents can't be left off the list. Data from Flightradar 24 showed that a flight was two hours into an eight-hour trip from Atlanta, Georgia, to Barcelona, Spain, when it turned back to Atlanta.
An aviation enthusiast shared an audio transmission between the pilot and air traffic control on X after it was recorded on LivaATC.com. The pilot suggested a passenger experienced diarrhea throughout the plane mid-air.
"This is a biohazard issue," a pilot told air traffic control. "We've had a passenger who's had diarrhea all the way through the airplane, so they want us to come back to Atlanta."
A Delta Airlines spokesperson told Insider there was a "medical issue" but did not disclose the nature of the issue.
"Delta flight 194 from Atlanta to Barcelona returned to Atlanta following an onboard medical issue," the statement said.
Flightradar24 data suggested that the flight arrived in Barcelona at 5 p.m. the following day, eight hours later than it was initially scheduled to arrive.
A viral video purportedly showing the aftermath of the incident on the plane had 2.9 million views as of Wednesday.
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