Worst Passenger of the Week: Catch Me if You Can

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 – No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Officials at Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) in the UAE took time to issue a warning to travelers after a Philippine national was arrested upon arrival for inadvertently bringing contraband into the country. The arriving passenger is facing serious criminal charges after authorities at the airport discovered a blister packet of medication in his baggage.

“Do not carry any prohibited materials while boarding the plane,” the head of SHJ police, Salam Abdul Rahman Bin Fari announced in a stark warning to future passengers. “Travelers are advised not to help strangers to carry their baggage.”

The unidentified passenger reportedly arrived in the UAE from the Philippines to start a new job. After his arrest, he told police that during a “going-away party” to celebrate his overseas employment opportunity, he had been asked to deliver the medication to an ailing family member of one of the attendees.

Unfortunately, the medicine turned out to be unprescribed narcotics and very much illegal to bring into the UAE. The accidental drug mule told police that there was a man waiting at the airport to take delivery of the medication, but the weight of the law, it seems, will fall on the good samaritan who trusted the wrong people.

An unnamed member of the airport police force told a local newspaper that although the arrested passenger appeared to be a victim of circumstances, officers had no choice but to file charges. “Lack of awareness of the law doesn’t exempt anyone from prosecution,” he explained.

It’s clear that no matter how it is translated, the axiom “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” applies everywhere around the globe.

The Runner-up – Cash Me Outside, Howbow Dah

Patron Saint of adolescent angst, Danielle Bregoli, has already shared her aggressive side with television viewers. The troubled teen has threatened to “start swinging” in response to her mother’s attempts at discipline. She has even expressed her willingness to fight the “hoes” in the studio audience at the Dr. Phil show when she issued the now famous challenge “Cash me outside – howbow dah.” So Bregoli’s response to an alleged air rage situation during the boarding of a Spirit Airlines flight at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) shouldn’t come as much of a shock.

A cellphone video of the Monday evening exchange shows a dispute about an overhead bin that turned violent and quickly resulted in Bregoli, her mother and another woman involved in the altercation being escorted from the flight. Police say no charges were filed, but Spirit Airlines officials announced that all three women are permanently banned from flying on the carrier.

“I’m calling her every name under the sun, she’s calling me and my mom racial slurs and doesn’t even know what she’s talking about,” Bregoli recounted to TMZ after the incident. “All I know is that she hit my mom and I need to whoop her right now.”

Bregoli remained defiant following the incident, taking to social media to brag that she “had to hit a b**ch yesterday at the airport.” The teen later used her Facebook account to reenact the melee using a pillow as a stand-in for the other passenger involved in the fight.

Although the unpleasantness at the airport means that the troubled teen will no longer be welcome on Spirit Airlines flights, the incident earned her a command appearance on the television show that made her famous in the first place.

The Winner – The Oldest Trick in the Book

Police were reportedly waiting at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to arrest Khalid Baqa as soon as his Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight arrived from Allama Iqbal International Airport (LHE) in Pakistan. The 52-year-old UK citizen was set to be taken into custody in connection with a fraud investigation, but his flight never arrived at LHR.

Instead, the PIA flight was escorted to London Stansted Airport (STN) by RAF Typhoon fighter jets. It seems an unknown caller had reported a cryptic bomb threat that specifically mentioned the LHR-bound flight prior to the plane’s arrival. Once on the ground, however, authorities found no evidence that there was any sort of threat present on the aircraft.

Despite the massive diversion caused by the involvement of the Ministry of Defense, fighter planes, an emergency landing and an army of first responders, Baqa remained quietly in his seat until officers boarded the plane to arrest him on charges completely unrelated to the terror threat. Even though the uncanny security threat had the effect of helping Baqa to elude justice (albeit briefly), authorities say they have no reason to believe that Baqa had anything to do with the bomb hoax.

Officials say the plane was diverted to STN by fighter jets rather than making an emergency landing at LHR because the alternate airport is specifically designated as a location for dealing with hijacking situations and/or major security threats. The plane was isolated in a remote area while authorities investigated the threat and just happened to stop a wanted man from slipping through the cracks along the way.

[Photo: Shutterstock]