Worst Passenger of the Week: This Flight Has No Seoul

Third Place – True Love, Phony Ticket

The complicated security protocols in place at airports across India in the run-up to Independence Day celebrations on August 15 were only as good as the weakest link in the multi-layered strategy. On Sunday, a glaringly weak link was exploited by an Italian national who just wanted to accompany his girlfriend to her departing flight.

The lovesick boyfriend reportedly created a passable forgery of a boarding pass in order to slip past security at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). The foolhardy and romantic gesture, however, put Riccardo Volta in hot water with authorities. Volta was eventually confronted by ICCC security agents inside the airport, who questioned the authenticity of his homemade ticket. The sneaky trespasser was arrested after it was confirmed that his Aeroflot boarding pass was indeed a fake.

The scheme may seem like a lot of work and a lot to risk for nothing more than a chance to spend time with a girlfriend over stale airport coffee, but Volta isn’t alone in attempting this particular stunt. According to officials, around 35 people have been nabbed trying to access airports in India with phony tickets so far this year.

The Runner-up – Paging Passenger Chuck Cello … Paging Passenger Chuck Cello

It is always best not to attempt to be clever or funny when booking travel to and from the United States – the Department of Homeland Security can be notoriously humorless. A cellist headed from Zürich Airport (ZRH) to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) learned this lesson the hard way.

Musician Jane Bevan booked one seat under her name and a separate seat for her prized cello under the name “Chuck Cello” on a British Airways flight this week. She attempted to make it clear that Mr. Cello was not a person and the snarky musician even called the airline to confirm that the airline understood that her travel companion was an oversized string instrument. Officials in the US, however, prefer things be a little more black and white and insisted that Chuck Cello complete the required Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) form before being allowed to board the flight.

Because the cello in question was obviously incapable of completing the required visa waiver form, airline officials were left with no choice but to deny boarding to Chuck Cello. Adding insult to injury, the stranded musician was informed that booking a seat on a later flight would cost her more than $4,500.

“This was a highly unusual incident which arose after the customer booked a seat for her cello as a named passenger,” BA said in a less than sympathetic statement. “This is what triggered the requirement for an ESTA from the US government. The ticket the customer booked through a third party website was non-refundable.”

The Winners – Thank You Very Much for the Six Hour Flight to Nowhere

When a passenger’s erratic behavior causes a passenger plane to divert to an emergency airport, the unplanned stop will almost always cause an unexpected and unpleasant delay for everyone involved. When the flight is nearly three hours into a trip from Honolulu International Airport (HNL) to Seoul-Incheon International Airport (ICN) and the most viable option is to head right back to where the flight originated, the situation can be downright heart-breaking.

Some passengers on Hawaiian Airlines Flight 459 on Thursday reportedly broke down in tears upon learning their plane was about to land at the very same place it took off from after nearly six hours in the air. The crew made the decision to head back home after a flight attendant reported a passenger exhibiting “suspicious behavior.” Things got even worse for the 286 passengers onboard when the plane was immediately swarmed by police at HNL. Passengers were then forced to stand on the tarmac while bomb-sniffing dogs inspected their possessions.

Federal officials would not confirm exactly what sort of suspicious activity the passenger onboard was accused of, but after questioning at least two flyers, agents were convinced that the suspicious behavior was “not an intentional threat to the crew or passengers on board the plane.” The FBI said that no charges were filed as a result of the incident.

[Photo: CNN]