Worst Passenger of the Week: A Perfect Storm of Antisocial Behavior

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 – Gosh, I am Somewhat Tired of These Monkey-fighting-snakes on This Monday-to-Friday Plane

The snake spotted dangling from the overhead bin of an Aeromexico flight from Francisco Sarabia International Airport (TRC) to Mexico City International Airport (MEX) this week was reported by news outlets to be a five-foot-long venomous green viper (repeat a five-foot-long venomous viper!). It’s hard to fault the snake in this situation. Other than hanging out about 40,000 feet above its natural habitat, the snake was really just doing what snakes do.

The passengers onboard the flight, with their orderly and calm reaction, however, seemed bound and determined to make the rest of us look bad. It doesn’t help anyone to panic during an inflight emergency, but when poisonous snakes start falling from the ceiling, then a gasp of surprise or at least a little bit of excited murmuring might be expected. For goodness sake, even the hero of the movie Snakes on a Plane was briefly taken aback by the thought of dealing with snakes on a plane, but not this group of seasoned flyers. Instead of an embarrassing display of shrieking and sobbing, the passengers of Aeromexico Flight 231 set a wholly unrealistic standard of calm and self-control for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation in the future.

Chief among those guilty of setting the bar way too high when it comes to appropriate decorum (at least when it comes to reacting to a potentially poisonous snake falling into the cabin of a commercial airliner) is passenger Indalecio Medina. Not only did Medina capture video of the snake writhing out of a ceiling panel, thus robbing the rest of us of the ability to pretend like the incident was an overhyped urban myth that could never happen in real life, he also turned out to be some sort of snake whisperer in the sky. Medina calmly called the incident a “unique experience” and told reporters that he captured the viper with a blanket, before he thoughtfully “gave it some magazines to read.”

The Runner-up – One Night Only! Bare Knuckle Boxing in the Economy Class Cabin

Details of a near riot on a Ryan Air flight bound from Brussels Airport (BRU) to Malta International Airport (MLA) are sounding more and more like the plot of a Guy Ritchie movie. The terrifying melee that reportedly took more than ten minutes to bring under control started innocently enough when an elderly woman decided to move to a roomier empty seat on the plane. The inflight brawl that followed and involved as many as a half-dozen passengers, left several flyers nursing minor injuries and the rest of the cabin dealing with a serious case of frayed nerves.

The senior citizen was injured after allegedly having been hit on the head in protest of her decision to change seats. A flight attendant was slapped trying to break up the massive scuffle and the plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Pisa International Airport (PSA) to remove the instigators.

Passenger Tommy Engerer, who filmed the troubling inflight chaos, told reporters that as the incident continued to drag on, he started to fear the out-of control passengers “would try and open the doors to bring the plane down.” Engerer described the violent flyers in newspaper reports as “gypsy types.” Ryan Air officials confirmed that four passengers were removed from the flight following the disturbing inflight incident. “This is now a matter for local police,” the airline said as part of a brief statement.

The Winner – The Baby-Threatening, Crew-Slapping, Nearly-Naked, Lavatory-Challenged Drunk

Any one of the antisocial behaviors Condor Airlines passenger Oliver Charles Halliday Gee stands accused of should have been enough to have gotten the 34-year-old booted from his transatlantic flight from Cancún International Airport (CUN) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA). Gee, however, seems to know that he isn’t likely to earn the title of Worst Passenger of the Week by quitting while he is ahead. Instead, he slowly escalated his outrageous conduct until the plane was forced to divert to Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) where he was taken into police custody.

In Gee’s defense, he dropped several red flags (along with most of his clothing) on the way to causing the full-fledged inflight emergency. Eyewitnesses on the flight say the disruptive flyer started his mischief before the plane even left the gate, reportedly demanding a drink almost as soon as he boarded.

It turns out that maybe that drink wasn’t such a good idea. By the the time the flight reached cruising altitude, Gee had already allegedly threatened to kill a seatmate as well as “intimidating” and threatening to harm a nearby toddler.

Gee is said to have followed up his abusive outbursts by warning a flight attendant that “he knew people in Mexico who would gladly kill for him.” It seems that the boorish flyer was just getting started. According to fellow passengers, he proceeded to disrobe completely before announcing “I prefer drugs to alcohol.” At this point, the naked man informed the fight attendant that he intended to urinate on the floor of the cabin.

The world’s most patient flight attendant helped the man to the lavatory rather than allowing him to pee in an inappropriate area of the plane. To thank her for her assistance, Gee is said to have slapped her before threatening her life. Having finally found and then crossed the line, the rude, nude, violent, intoxicated passenger was restrained while the captain prepared for an unscheduled stop in the US.

[Photo: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS]