Worst Passengers of the Week: The Stag Party That Wouldn’t Take “No” For an Answer

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.

The Runner-up –The Gold Smuggler Who Led Authorities Straight to Etihad’s Security Chief

Gold smuggling has become such a pervasive problem at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM) in Mumbai that customs officials have taken to keeping an especially close eye on passengers with suspicious travel patterns.

Sunil Jagwani was one of those passengers who received special attention from customs officials. Jagwani had flown between BOM and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) in the UAE several times in the preceding two weeks. The suspected gold smuggler had arrived at BOM for the fourth time in fourteen days when officials began following his movements.

Authorities had good reason to believe Jagwani was smuggling gold, but customs officials did not expect that the focus of their sting operation would lead them to one of their own colleagues. In fact, customs officials briefed Deepak Golani, Ethad’s Chief of Security at BOM, on the very sting operation that would eventually lead to Golani’s arrest.

Upon being briefed about the sting, the Etihad official immediately sent a series of text messages attempting to warn Jagwani away and then ordered the gold mule to wait at the airport until nearly 4 am before handing over nearly 50 ounces of gold concealed in cigarette packages. By the time Jagwani delivered the smuggled gold to Golani, officials had become suspicious of the security chief and were keeping him out of the loop.

Officials say that Golani was not only frequently briefed on customs and security operations, but as head of an airline’s security, he had nearly full access to every part of the airport.

“He was in a post where he should have been assisting customs and other agencies in anti-smuggling and security operations,” BOM Customs Commissioner A.P.S Suri told the Mumbai Mirror. “However, he was indulging in such large scale smuggling which casts a doubt on the entire security of private agencies/airlines.”

Though the Etihad security chief is the highest ranking official at BOM to be nabbed in a smuggling sting, Golani was by no means the first employee at the airport to be accused of moving contraband through the facility. Officials say 18 employees at the airport have been arrested since customs authorities stepped-up scrutiny at the airport several months ago.

The Winners — The Bachelor Party That Started in the Airport & Ended on the Plane

When the cabin crew on an EasyJet flight from Bristol Airport (BRS) to Ibiza Airport (IBZ) noticed a number of unruly and reveling bachelor and bachelorette parties on the plane, a decision was made to limit the alcoholic beverage service to one drink per passenger. The very group that led flight attendants to put the strict alcohol policy in place protested the loudest when the policy was announced.

The five member stag party on their way to the Spanish resort locale were not alone in reacting poorly to the news that drink service would be limited, but other passengers say the group decided to punish the flight crew for their decision and became abusive for the entirety of the 2 hour and 30 minute flight.

“When we got on the plane we were told that we would only be allowed one drink – as is quite normal now,” a passenger on the late evening flight told Yahoo Travel. “But these lads got quite abusive about it. They were abusive to the staff for the duration of the flight, so they reported it to the Captain.”

Passengers say the outlandish group of friends had likely been served more than one drink before boarding the flight and appeared inebriated before taking their seats near the back of the plane.

In a not uncommon paradox, the very policy responsible for the stag party’s outrage seems to have been ultimately justified by the stag party’s outrageous reaction when the the one-drink policy was announced.

After the plane landed at IBZ, Spanish authorities met the flight and escorted the stag party from the plane.

The airline would like to see the members of the out-of-control stag party receive more than just a slap on the wrist from authorities. “We do not tolerate abusive or threatening behavior on board and always push for prosecution,” an EasyJet spokesman said of the incident.

[Photos: Mumbai Mirror, SWNS via Yahoo]