The Pilot Puncher: 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: The Drug Smuggling Ladies

Minnesota has an image that is decidedly more A Prairie Home Companion than Miami Vice, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents say that three women from the land of 10,000 lakes were nabbed at O’Hare International Airport (ORD) with more than $3 million worth of heroin and opium in their luggage this week. The alleged drug mules were passing through ORD on their way home after arriving on a flight from Japan when they were arrested.

Police say Mai Vue Vang, age 58, Pa Yang, age 57 and True Thao, age 52, were traveling with several small packets of heroin and opium that all told, added up to a total weight of more than 30 kilograms worth of narcotics. The women are each being held on charges of “manufacturing or delivery of narcotics.” A Chicago judge set a $50,000 cash bond for each of the women, pending their next court appearance on June 2.

The Runner-up: The Employee of the Month

Air India flight crews are developing a well-earned reputation for delaying flights until they get their way on seemingly trivial matters. In one case, a fussy Air India pilot refused to fly for several hours until maintenance workers arrived to clean his oxygen mask with a sanitizing wipe. An Air India captain once even delayed a flight more than two hours because he wasn’t assigned to fly with his favorite female co-pilot. It seems that Air India mechanics are now getting in on the act as well.

An Air India engineer who was traveling on company business reportedly refused to take his seat because he was denied an upgrade to business class. While company policy apparently allows for employees traveling at the airline’s behest to be upgraded if space is available, in this case, business class was already full.

Passengers onboard the flight from Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) were delayed for nearly two hours while the Air India employee continued his protest. It reportedly took a visit from senior management to convince the outraged employee to accept the seat in economy class as his lot in life.

The Winner: The Woman Who Sucker Punched the Captain

Passengers traveling with open arrest warrants are probably best served by keeping a low profile. A 25-year-old EasyJet passenger wasn’t exactly flying under the radar when she was ordered off of a Manchester Airport (MAN) to Paphos International Airport (PFO) bound flight because of her disruptive behavior before the plane ever departed. Still, her outrageous pre-flight conduct wasn’t enough to cause police to be summoned, triggering an inevitable background check — until she allegedly punched the pilot in the face as she was being escorted off the plane.

This time, law enforcement was called to the scene. When officers arrived, the reportedly violent passenger was not only charged with assaulting the crew member, but police also discovered that the woman was wanted on previous drug charges.

“EasyJet can confirm that the police were called to attend flight EZY1973 from Manchester to Paphos prior to its departure on 11 May to assist with a disruptive passenger,” EasyJet said in a now routine boilerplate statement confirming an incident involving a poorly behaved flyer. “The passenger was subsequently arrested. The safety and well-being of passengers and crew is always easyJet’s priority. Whilst such incidents are rare, we take them very seriously, do not tolerate abusive or threatening behavior on board and always push for prosecution.”

[Photo: Getty Images]