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Worst Passenger of the Week: The Lost Art of Seduction

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 – Purse Your Words Carefully at the Security Checkpoint

Airport security is notoriously humorless when it comes to passengers joking about explosives. A 27-year-old fashion model at Sahar International Airport (BOM) in Mumbai was somehow unaware of this well-known fact of life. The Air India passenger caused a major security incident when she allegedly suggested that officials inspect a travel companion’s purse because it “had a bomb inside.”

Even as she was being detained by authorities while police swept the airport for signs of explosives, Kanchan Thakur reportedly remained defiant. She even implied that officials might need to learn how to take a joke.

“The furious model again had an argument [with staff] and claimed that when real terrorists walk into aircraft they do nothing but when she just cracked a joke, they turned it into such a big thing,” Inspector BT Mukhedkar told reporters. “At midnight, officials registered a charge against Thakur. She took the matter lightly and playing a joke on her friends turned serious.”

The jet-setting model will remain grounded for the time being. Officials are said to have ordered Thakur and her entourage not to leave town while serious charges including “endangering the lives of others and causing fear or alarm among the public” are pursued.

The Runner-up – No Blanket Solutions for Issues of Cold Shoulder

A passenger’s objection to paying $10 for the use of a blanket on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from McCarran International Airport (LAS) to Honolulu International Airport (HNL) ended up costing everyone involved a great deal more time and money than anyone anticipated. Soon after the rather chilly 66-year-old flyer got in touch with a customer service representative on the ground to complain about the exorbitant blanket rental fee, the plane made an unscheduled stop at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where the complaining passenger was removed from the flight.

The blanket-less flyer allegedly told the unyielding customer service agent, “I would like to take someone behind the woodshed for this.” The old-school colloquialism was enough cause for the airline to consider the shivering senior citizen a threat to the aircraft causing the emergency landing at LAX.

Police and federal officials who met the plane on arrival to remove an “unruly passenger” from the flight seemed to disagree with the carrier’s stark assessment of the situation. The unsatisfied flyer was released without charges and was able to complete his journey on a later flight.

Hawaiian Airlines officials disputed early media accounts of the incident, noting that a more reasonable $10 fee is charged for the use of a blanket in the economy class cabin, rather than the comparatively outrageous $12 price that was initially reported.

The Winner – A Failed Romantic Gesture that Looked Much Better on Wadded-up Paper

A passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight Wednesday from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Will Rogers World Airport (OKC) chose International Women’s Day to remind us why there is a need for an International Women’s Day. According to a complaint, the flyer’s attempts to charm a member of the cabin crew turned ugly when his advances proved unwelcome.

Police say that when the amorous traveler’s attentions were ignored by the flight attendant, the flirtatious passenger threw a wadded ball of paper at the crew member’s face. The suave gentleman reportedly waited until the plane had landed and was taxiing to the gate before resorting to the desperate and ill-advised endgame.

Oklahoma City Police arrested the aggressive flyer, but federal authorities declined to pursue charges. The suspect was given a citation, removed from airport property and released – all of which could have been avoided had the lovesick passenger just followed a few simple rules about “How To Chat Up Your Flight Attendant.”

[Photo: Shutterstock]

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2 Comments
F
fairhsa March 20, 2017

I read this in the press - being charged for a blanket? That's outrageous. I would have been very cross too if I were the passenger, particularly if I had nothing in my hand luggage to keep me warm.

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skidooman March 11, 2017

Honestly, in the case of Hawaiian, I am not sure if it is a case of worst passenger or another example of flight attendants going beserk for the slightest perceived (and here downright imagined) danger. I mean, really, divert a flight because of a few ill chosen words over a policy that is outrageous to start with? $10 for a blanket for an older gent? Everyone thinks this is normal? When something like this happens and the client ends up not being charged, the airline should be fined for wasting taxpayers' money. Pure and simple. Unfortunately, in the US the rule now seems to be as follows: we will use the threat of force to keep you silenced while we make your life in Economy ever so more torturous. Don't like it? Fly business and shut up! Too bad reputable Asian airlines cannot start domestic service in the United States. Might see a welcome change in attitude. At least, I never saw Asiana charge me for a blanket.