What Are You Even DOING: This Week’s Worst Flyers

Every Friday, FlyerTalk looks back at the week’s most charming individuals. While there are always plenty of contenders for our Worst Passenger of the Week award, only one lucky flyer can take home the glory. Here are this week’s winners.

Third Place – Seven Words You Can’t Say on an Airplane

There are subjects that are best avoided when flying on a commercial airline. Even an innocent discussion about hijacking is likely to be misconstrued if overheard by fellow passengers. A joke about explosives at an airport will almost certainly lead to a criminal investigation. Sometimes, even a single word can be enough to get a passenger booted from a flight.

A United Airlines flight from Albany International Airport to Newark Liberty Airport (EWR) was delayed for several hours on Wednesday, allegedly because a passenger on the flight inexplicably uttered the word “bomb.” After bomb-sniffing dogs and a thorough search of the aircraft found no evidence of explosives, the plane departed behind schedule without the passenger who used a word best not spoken on an airplane. The loudmouthed flyer was “acting somewhat irrational” according to police. “He wanted to get a rise out of everybody, which he did,” the local sheriff told reporters.

Likewise, discussing ISIS on a crowded plane (even in the context of recounting a recent interaction with the Secretary General of The United Nations) is also likely to get a rise out of fellow travelers. A UC Berkley student originally claimed that he was booted from a Southwest flight this week for speaking on his phone in Arabic. The airline, however, insisted that it was the subject of the conversation that led the crew to take action. Later reports indicated that the phone conversation in question allegedly included a mention of the terrorist organization ISIS. While talking about the time he asked Ban Ki-moon about the Islamic State isn’t in any way threatening, this college student might have learned a valuable lesson about words you probably shouldn’t use on a plane – in any language.

The Runner-up – The Man Who Promised a Disturbance and Kept His Word

The out-of-control flyer on a Korean Air flight from Incheon International Airport (ICN) to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM) was already causing trouble when the cabin crew decided not to allow him another beer. The disruptive passenger allegedly drank five beers in quick succession before smoking a cigarette in the lavatory, but it wasn’t until flight attendants cut his beer supply that Kwon Woo Sung really became a problem. After admitting to smoking in the bathroom, Sung responded to a warning from the flight attendant by promising to pay a fine and ordering two more beers. He was not at all happy when his request was declined.

“Sung threatened the supervising flight attendant, saying if he wasn’t served two more beers, he would cause a disturbance,” according to a court filing.

Sung reportedly made good on his promise. According to police, the unruly passenger physically attacked the flight attendant, lunging and attempting to punch the crew member before grabbing him and dragging him down the aisle. The flight attendant was eventually able to restrain Sung with the help of other passengers.

Instead of enjoying two more beers, Sung spent the rest of the flight with his hands and feet tied to his seat. He was arrested by FBI agents when the plane landed and he is now facing charges of interfering with a flight crew in the U.S. District Court of Guam.

The Winner – Nowhere to Run

When the captain of an EasyJet flight made the decision to turn around a Gatwick Airport (LGW) to Tenerife South Airport (TFS) bound flight because of two allegedly drunk and disruptive passengers, the pair of revelers should have known they were already in big trouble. What happened when the plane landed back at LGW, however, earned one of those two flyers the undisputed title of Worst Passenger of the Week.

Even the worst behaved passengers usually realize the jig is up at the point when the plane is taxiing to the gate where police are waiting. This unidentified 26-year-old passenger wasn’t willing to give up quite so easily. In an effort that was doomed from the start, the impaired flyer attempted to push past the captain and then proceeded to grapple with the police who met the plane to take the men into custody.

The failed escape attempt only compounded the mounting legal troubles the misbehaving passenger now faces. While both traveling companions were charged with offenses related to their behavior on the flight, the poorly planned getaway attempt earned one of the men an additional and much more serious charge of assaulting an officer in their execution of duty.

[Photo: Photo: Department of Corrections]