Worst Passenger of the Week: The Man Who Stripped Naked to Protest an Overbooked Flight

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.

Third Place – The Pilot Who Blamed Unspecified “Technical Reasons”

If there is one thing most of the worst passengers have in common, it is singular talent for delaying hundreds of their fellow passengers in the wake of their bad behavior and questionable decisions. There are few delays more frustrating than the delays that occur after a flight has arrived.

The pilot in this case managed to take things a step further by managing to delay a plane full of passengers even after the flight had already arrived at the gate.

With the terminal in sight and freedom from a grueling flight only moments away, the pilot of a Turkish Airlines flight arriving at Helsinki Airport (HEL) from Istanbul Atatürk Airport (IST) crashed the plane into the jetway at the plane’s assigned gate. While the plane and jetway were damaged in the collision, passengers were only briefly delayed while stairs were brought in to allow the weary flyers to deplane.

The red-faced pilot may have redeemed himself by making a tongue-in-cheek announcement to the plane full of frustrated travelers that, “Due to technical reasons the jet bridge cannot be connected to the aircraft.”

The Runner-up – The Tasered Bro Who Made Mini-Me’s Day

Verne Troyer, the actor who portrayed Mini-Me in the Austin Power films, has brought joy to millions. It is only right that the passenger with anger control issues who was tasered by police at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was able to return just a tiny bit of that joy to the actor.

The LAX passenger’s very bad day ended up bringing a little excitement to the star’s day.

When the irate passenger rushed past a TSA security checkpoint after a dispute with screeners and reportedly pushed a police officer who responded to the incident, things predictably ended with officers tasering and arresting the man. Troyer was luckily on hand to witness the spectacle. Troyer live-tweeted the irate traveler’s ordeal, complete with a grinning on-the-scene selfie and even caught part of the excitement on video.

The Winner – The Passenger Who Went Full Frontal to Make a Point

Nearly every flyer has had the experience of feeling that gate agents might not be taking their concerns seriously. After learning that his Jamaica-bound US Airways flight was overbooked, a passenger at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) took drastic measures to make sure airline employees were fully focused on his travel issues.

Witnesses say that after verbally dressing down gate agents and getting nowhere, the frustrated passenger began stripping his clothes until he was standing completely naked in the gate area. The nude passenger refused to leave for nearly 40 minutes and was eventually taken into custody by police.

A fellow traveler described the graphic scene for a Charlotte television station, “He had his clothes on, at that point, and then he started standing there with his arms crossed and hollering at the lady at the desk,” she said to the station. “He stood there for a moment and then started talking off his clothes. I ain’t never seen nothing [like that] in my life.”

Police say the bare traveler had an “episode” because he was off his medication. Rather than arresting him, officers transported the man to a local hospital, “Where he can get the help he needs.”

[Photos: Jonathan Koo / Sherry Ketchie]