Worst Passenger of the Week: The Blue Bird Airways Blues

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 – Not Exactly the Shrewdest Hiding Spot

Police say that security screeners at Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) may have helped to bust the world’s laziest drug smuggler. Passenger Jon Avery, who was apparently not concerned at all with getting caught, is said to have simply stuffed his stash into his socks before attempting to pass through an airport security checkpoint on Monday.

The noticeable bulge above the flyer’s shoe caught the attention of TSA screeners at the security checkpoint even before the 44-year-old boldly stepped into a full-body scanner. Modern technology took any remaining guesswork out of the equation and screeners were able to unequivocally confirm that the not-especially-self-aware-passenger was smugly attempting to outsmart them.

A closer inspection of the misshapen footwear revealed that the sock had been hastily stuffed with marijuana. Having outwitted the pot-carrying passenger, the TSA workers handed the foiled criminal mastermind over to airport police officers – but it wasn’t exactly case closed just yet.

With his well-laid plan in tatters, things quickly went from bad to worse for the laissez faire smuggler. Authorities say they soon discovered much harder drugs in an even more obvious hiding spot on the amateur drug trafficker’s person. When he was being booked into jail, a packet of white powder (later determined to be methamphetamines) was allegedly found in Avery’s wallet.

The Runner-up – Detoured to Dayton Until the Veep Finishes His Lunch

A United Airlines flight from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Indianapolis International Airport (IND) was denied permission to land, in part, because the Vice President of the United States had a lunch date in town. After circling the airport for more than twenty minutes while waiting for Air Force Two to depart, the passenger plane was forced to divert to Dayton International Airport (DAY) when fuel levels became dangerously low.

Normally, commercial flights are exempt from restrictions placed on airspace when the President or VP travels. In this case, however, a runway at IND was reportedly closed for maintenance, leaving the planeload full of passengers to wait in limbo for the Veep to depart before they could land.

The crew of the United Express flight made a somewhat heroic effort to convince ATC to allow the flight to land at its scheduled destination. “We could be on the ground in about six minutes from our present position,” the captain was recorded pleading with the control tower at IND. “I don’t know if you can let them know that, if that would help in their decision process.”

In the end, air traffic controllers simply informed the crew that the matter was out of their hands and the pilots were forced to seek permission to land at DAY. After taking on fuel and waiting for the VIP to free up the runway, the flight eventually arrived at its destination just under an hour-and-a-half behind schedule.

It might be a little unfair to blame Mike Pence for the unnecessarily diverted flight. The Vice President doesn’t make his own security arrangements and a Secret Service spokesman told local media that if the second runway had been open, the plane would have been allowed to land with little hassle.

The relatively minor delay of one flight, of course, pales in comparison to the massive delays reported at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in May of 1993. The air traffic gridlock was at the time attributed to then-President Bill Clinton getting a quick haircut aboard Air Force One as the jet idled on an airport tarmac.

These mitigating factors, unfortunately, offer cold comfort for anyone forced to unexpectedly visit Dayton, Ohio against their will.

The Winner – The Violent Passenger Tied to a Chair and Booted-off in Bulgaria

This Worst Passenger of the Week winner gets full points for persistence. According to eyewitnesses on the Blue Bird Airways flight from Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD) to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport (TEL), the allegedly intoxicated flyer didn’t waste any time causing trouble.

The unruly flyer, who reportedly smelled strongly of alcohol, refused to remain in his seat even as the plane was still climbing away from the runway. The out-of-control passenger followed up his defiance violently by reportedly attacking a flight attendant.

Even after crew members managed to strap the rampaging air traveler to his seat, the man still made quite an effort to continue causing problems onboard the aircraft. Not convinced that the situation was fully under control, the captain declared an emergency and diverted the flight to Sofia Airport (SOF) in Bulgaria. Once on the ground, security forces are said to have had to forcibly remove the stubborn and still combative passenger from the plane.

Heraklion International Airport (HER)-based Blue Bird Air might just be setting the stage for a little future payback in the courtroom. Company officials were deliberate in highlighting a substantial and clear financial loss suffered as a result of the behavior of a single passenger when they spoke to reporters.

“The captain of the plane, out of concern for the safety of the flight and the passengers landed in Sofia,” an airline official said in a statement, adding “Then the flight continued to Israel – damage to the airline company was estimated at thousands of dollars in light of the unplanned stop.”

[Photo: Shutterstock]