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Worst Passenger of the Week: A Most Unexpected Egress

An emergency exit sign on a Boeing 737-700 unlit. Written in both the English and Spanish languages

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.
There are very few major airports within the US that are farther apart than Honolulu International Airport (HNL) and John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Hawaiian Airlines Flight HA 50 was estimated to make the long-haul trip in just under ten hours flying time on Tuesday, but that was before a reportedly intoxicated and aggressive passenger forced the flight to turn around and head back to Hawaii hours after departure.
Unfortunately for everyone on the flight, the plane was nearly halfway across the Pacific Ocean when the pilot decided an unscheduled landing was necessary. Although the flight had been in the air for hours at this point, HNL was still the closest major airport, so the passengers and crew had to retrace their route back to HNL and after several more hours in the air, the plane ended up right back where it started.
A Hawaiian Airlines spokesman told KHNL News that the crew had little choice but to turn back for home. “The plane was over the ocean, and if it’s less than halfway out, pilots will turn it back,” the airline official explained.
The very unpopular passenger who caused the whole mess in the first place was removed from the plane upon landing and the flight was eventually able to depart again for the eastern seaboard. All told, the long flight to the middle of the Pacific Ocean and back again led to a delay of just over eight hours.
It’s bad enough to be kicked off of a flight for drunk and abusive behavior. The passenger who was ejected from a British Airways flight this week, however, managed to compound the offense by having an infant and toddler in tow at the time. The allegedly intoxicated mom and her children were removed from the flight from Tenerife Sur Airport (TFS) to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) along with five other adult passengers.
Eyewitnesses told The Sun that the mother of two small children started to demand alcoholic beverages as soon as she boarded the flight. “I’ve paid for my flight and I know I am entitled to it,” she reportedly warned flight attendants. “I work for my money. I’ve got a proper job.”
Other passengers on the flight told reporters that in addition to drinking heavily in an airport lounge, the young mom became embroiled in a heated argument with some of her travel companions prior to boarding. The unidentified woman in her twenties had apparently reacted strongly to an assertion that she was a “benefits mum.”
The captain made the decision to return to the terminal just before takeoff. The troubled parental figure and her entourage were removed from the plane. In this case, however, everyone involved received a “time out.” The flight was delayed for nearly two hours due to the childish temper tantrum from a supposedly responsible adult.
The Winner – Geronimo!
On nearly every commercial airline flight, passengers are asked to remain seated with their seat belts fastened until the plane is safely at the gate. Not everyone follows these rules to the letter, but it isn’t very often that a passenger opens an emergency exit, jumps from the plane and heads for the terminal before the plane has even stopped moving. Inexplicably, this was exactly the situation that occurred this week at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).
As an on-time United Airlines flight which had just arrived from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) was taxiing to the terminal, a passenger on the plane made a surprising decision. According to witnesses, the woman calmly opened an emergency hatch and climbed onto the wing before quickly jumping from the moving plane.
“I’ve flown all over the world and I’ve been on lots of really long flights and I’ve never experienced anything like this,” passenger Cathy Cole told KHOU News. “I have no earthly idea why she would want to do that.”
It doesn’t seem likely that the runaway passenger took the bizarre action because she was in a hurry to get to the Panda Express in Terminal B. It appears that, based on the reactions of both police and prosecutors, there were much deeper issues involved. Officers immediately transported the woman to a local hospital for a mental heath evaluation and the Harris County District Attorney announced that criminal charges would not be filed against the flyer who fled.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
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