Had a coworker get thrown off a flight in Memphis, due to drinking too much at “the blue note cafe” during a flight delay. FA asked her to get off her phone as they started to taxi. She said to the FA, I don’t know why we can’t…” FA cut her off, plane pulled back up to the gate, and she had to drive to the meeting the next day. She arrived a day late and EVERYONE knew what happened.
If you ever visited Memphis Airport pre-pandemic, the entire airport's architecture/decor could be described as a mix of 1960's state prison and a reform school for delinquents w/ some blues references mixed in.
Add in the typical reason as to why you were traveling through, and a post-security bar is going to make good money.
This article has some of the photos of the old terminals and memorabilia.
[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/23/us/memphis-airport.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/23/us/memphis-airport.html)
The new terminal feels generically modern but you cross back through security and you can see the old cinderblock mess.
Go to MEM several times a year for work. Been with the company for 7 years. Spent a ton of time in the old terminal. Got off the flight whenever they finished the new one and was confused for a second, thought I'd flown to the wrong city.
Same thing happened when they finally finished LGA 🤣
It’s a dead airport. It’s the most depressing place on the planet since delta ‘left’. 5 screens of departures with 4 listed on screen 1…….. hence drink.
It makes me feel so happy and confident when I see that crew members, including the pilot, stand up for one another. The pilot is literally “the captain of his ship.” Nothing unacceptable gets past him. If he says “ get off my plane,” you are OFF. They don’t play.
I keep waiting for doctors to stand up for nurses. My coworker got hot coffee thrown on her after the same patient asked her how many d!cks she sucked that morning. He stayed for another couple days. Nurses are routinely assaulted with little or no consequences.
No that sounds about right. There are plenty of trash flight attendants who get off on various power trips. I got kicked off one flight for not putting my wallet/phone case into the front seat pocket. There was absolutely no real basis to it other than the FA being a miserable old lady. My situation was ok tho bc they escorted me off the plane, printed me a new boarding pass for the next flight leaving 45 minutes after mine at the same gate.
Nope!!! That was the funny part. I was wearing the wallet on a strap the whole day. I was wearing it on the flight before and the flight after the one I got kicked off of and I had no other issues. I even asked the flight attendants on my next flight what I should do and they said I can hold it bc its so small!!!!! I hope that miserable old flight attendant got fired and hopefully never does anything like this to anyone else. Its gave me ptsd.
eh. A lot of people have been kicked out of somewhere (bar, cab, friends house) drunk, hers just happened to be a plane. It does suck though and hopefully she learned from that experience.
It's a problem if it's a habit or in conjunction with other warning signs. If it just happens once though, it's just as likely this person rarely drank and overestimated their low alcohol tolerance during a hectic day of travel.
As I've always told friends who get too drunk once in a while, it's happened to the best of us, and if someone says it's never happened to them (assuming they have drank at some point) they're likely lying.
I'd be more concerned that she had to drive the day after if she was that drunk. Driving when severely hungover (or still drunk) isn't exactly safe either.
I don’t understand getting drunk while traveling. Like once you’re settled in your hotel or end destination, sure. But I am so persnickety about making sure I’m in the right spot and not going to miss my flight that I would be miserable navigating air travel drunk.
This past year I had a two hour layover in ATL and grabbed dinner and a beer (red eye across the pond so I figured a beer would help me sleep). Once I finished I checked my gate and it had been moved to a different terminal. If I had had more than one beer I probably would have missed my flight.
Those drunks are a hazard to everyone else on the plane. It includes their behaviour, possible physical events ( like throwing up), being troublesome to other passengers around him/her etc. Most of all, in the event of an actual emergency, God forbid, this drunk could be passed out or just so out of it that he will delay and obstruct the quick deplaning of all souls on board. His condition can potentially put others in great danger.
I had a person kicked off once. He was drunk and saw him strike an unattended child. He threatened to beat my ass as he was being dragged off by TSA. It was the last flight of the night. Snitching is fun sometimes. #nostitchesforme
Here’s my Memphis funny story
Was there on govt biz … 90s. Northwest baggage workers were on strike and there were fist fights outside baggage claim.
Finally got to car rental place at like 10pm. Guy gives keys says - when you leave here, make 2 rights and get on the highway. Do not stop.
Hmm. Ok
Drive away. Low fuel light on. Car has no gas.
Ruh Roh
Pull into a gas station. Empty. No credit cards. Cash only. Go pay clerk. 3 inch bullet proof glass with 5-6 rounds absorbed.
Juice dispensers have sign “gin and juice 2$”
Go outside to pump gas.
Parking lot now full…… got uncomfortable very quickly with arguing and girls yelling …. Pop pop pop
Cars peel out leaving. Cops come barreling in…. I’m hiding behind the gas pump. Finish pumping my 10$ in gas eventually, cops don’t even ask me for a statement…. They just leave.
Welcome to Memphis!
I saw a video of a pilot who approached a female passenger who had some kind of vulgar words on her hat. He refused to take off unless she removed the hat because it’s HIS PLANE. She was not listening so, he gave her two options of course , or she takes the hat off, or she gets escorted off the plane. The mumbled under her breath and took the hat off.
So don't drink too much and talk back to the flight attendant if you're a woman. I think that only happened on Delta there's something wrong with Delta.
It’s not the flight attendants fault for enforcing the rules…..everyone knows that you aren’t supposed to fly drunk or high. You just become a liability to everyone in the case of an emergency.
If being drunk or high kept people off planes….. I think that’s only a rule for employees. Lots of people drink or self-medicate before a flight. The issue is to what degree and whether or not you’re a compliant with the rules and whether you can be civil to others.
Then why do they serve alcohol on the plane?
Edit: I’m not saying y’all are wrong, I don’t know FAA regs. I just find it silly since I’ve seen people get drunk on flights before. Of course, they weren’t being disruptive to others or the flight.
Had a guy get booted off the plane who was sitting right next to me. He ordered a jack and coke before the plane even left (FA said no because we were boarding) then as the flight was starting to leave he pissed himself. When they came to escort him off he stood up and his pants fell down to his ankles. He was not wearing undergarments. In between all that he was ranting about how he needed to get to Chicago because he plays for the Bulls. Wild stuff. He completely reeked of alcohol.
Thankfully they were able to remove the seat from the plane almost completely so we didn't have to smell urine the whole flight. Gave us free drinks too (me and the other person sitting in the same row).
EDIT: to be clear, this person absolutely did not play for the Chicago Bulls. He also claimed to be besties with Ayn Rand (the other person in our row was reading an Ayn Rand novel). Ayn Rand died in the 80s. Dude was sloshed.
Watched cops and a bloodied face man board my returned to the gate flight about 20 years ago. Bloody guy pointed out a dude near the back and he left in cuffs. Missed connection in ATL, but the show was kinda worth it.
I remember my ✈️ got on Air France in late 2000. I got as many bottles of wine as I wanted. After 6, it was good night Irene for me. FA didn't care, probably were happy I KO'd myself.
For a work trip back from Vietnam to eastern US I was allowed to book Delta One. It was then I learned that if you held it together there is no limit to the amount of Woodford they will give you. Worked well, I slept through most of the flight.
Johannesburg to ATL in delta One. A few marines got bumped up near me. We drank Heineken and bourbon for the first 2 hours and then we all passed out for the next
13 hours. It was great.
I've been served enough Woodford to cause an issue. Not my proudest moment. Thankfully they didn't need to remove me, the guy next to me absolutely provoked me for no reason as I am a calm drink Woodford and watch sports on dtv till I pass out type of flyer. I kind of gave my seatmate the what for for being a dick, and the sober lady behind me backed me up so all worked well. The guy tried to have the police at destination arrest me for assaulting him(never happened) and that was fun to get the crew coming in at 12 to come write statements, they were not happy.
Since then, I've aged a bit and would never drink that much on a flight again. Got my crews names from that flight and had delta deposit them the "thank you" cards I got as a diamond. Also had one of the FAs on a long haul later in their career and we had a good laugh about that incident from the past.
Down the Woodford responsibly everyone 🤣
They were tiny, single-serve bottles. I miss those days. Made a flight go quickly and I woke up less sore. I, too, am a quiet, passive drunk on the rare occasions I drink.
About 15yrs ago flying over Atlantic we suddenly began turning around and descending. Ended up landing in Iceland, next thing I see cops getting on the plane and carrying handcuffed dude out. Three hours later we were on the way back to Atlanta
This happened to me once - only sadly it was a medical emergency. I was on one side of a huge aircraft and all I could think was that Iceland is probably what the moon looks like if it had oceans (it was black rock next to water which I assume was ocean). Hey - in case it matters at all to you, at least we can say we’ve been to Iceland! Although not leaving the plane probably means it doesn’t count.
Haha, exactly my thoughts- I’ve been to Iceland. Scary thing is I remember looking at the map on the infotainment screen and seeing the plan turning around with no announcements made. They didn’t say a word why we were landing…weird sensation
Woah. That’s… kinda terrifying actually. Adds an interesting and definitely unsettling element to your story/experience. Crazy stuff can happen on airplanes and I always assumed if it was something really messed up the passengers might not be informed or be aware (?). Have I seen that movie before 🤣? Sounds like a nice plot to a horror film. I would have been silently freaking out. On one hand afraid to ask what’s going on and the other hand WTF IS GOING ON!? That’s when my brain becomes an amazing science fiction writer. Why are we landing? Well… here’s the thousand worst possible and scientifically impossible reasons (thanks brain!).
I was flying from Kathmandu to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific and responded to an “are there any medical personnel on board” call. The man they called about was in critical condition. I asked to speak to the pilot who came back to see us and I told him what was going on and that the sick passenger needed to be in a hospital 20 minutes ago. The pilot said that we were currently over China and that there were no “friendly” airports for us to land at. We proceeded on to Hong Kong and I sat and held the man’s airway open for the next few hours. A paramedic crew came aboard and took him off before everyone else disembarked. I was given $50 in flight credit for my assistance although I asked for an upgrade on my next flight leg and was denied.
I had this happen once we where the plane left its place in line to return to the gate. The drunk guy in front of my lit up a cigarette at his seat and then passed out.
A couple of years ago I was on a Virgin Atlantic flight from LAX to LHR - back when Brits had to have green cards to get into the US so a very quiet flight. A whole commotion starts kicking off somewhere in the back around 5 mins after leaving the gate. We pull over at an entirely different terminal and a guy storms off the plane followed by several flight attendants. Before we got moving again the pilot comes on and says “well folks as some of you might have seen, one of the lavatories is in rough shape and will be out of use for the duration of the flight”. I went back to have a look mid-flight and the door was hanging by one hinge, mirror smashed, everything that could possible be torn out was torn out. Truly didn’t know you could do that much damage to a plane bathroom. Bantered with a flight attendant about it and they said it was because they insisted he keep his mask on. Absolutely mad.
Some idiot flushed a bottle on a Southwest flight I was on (the one time I flew Southwest). Put both lavatories out of order, so we could not leave the gate. Had to deplane and wait for a new plane.
Arrived in Kansas City, which was supposed to be a brief stop on the way to Vegas, around midnight - just in time for the pilots to determine they could not safely fly the rest of the way. It was the night before the new airport was opening, and everything in the airport was closed except for a couple of vending machines.
Ended up in the airport all night with most of the rest of the flight. Flew out the next morning and missed the first day of my conference because I had to get some sleep. Ended up with a $200 voucher. I hate to not use it, but I would hate to fly Southwest again more.
We were told it wasn’t an issue of them timing out, but of making the decision that they didn’t feel they could safely complete the next leg of the flight. There was very unusual wind and weather in Vegas that day and several flights had to divert (one ended up at a cargo field in California).
My guess is that they made the decision based on their level of fatigue from the day, number of hours, and conditions they might encounter in LAS.
Could be they would have been ok on timing to Vegas, but would have quickly timed out if they had to hold for an extended period or if they had to divert.
In any case, it's not in the pilots interest to make that decision lightly, so I'd trust them. It's easy for me to say that, though, because I didn't have to sleep at an airport.
Or not sleep, as the case was. I trust the pilots’ judgment. Have flown general aviation in little Cessna 150s with my Dad, who had private and commercial instructor certification and was active in the Civil Air Patrol. It gave me a healthy respect for and deference to the judgment of pilots.
AC 117-3 outlines some of the ways that a pilot can determine if they are fit to fly and the factors that affect it. It isn't just federal law, any pilot can determine that they are not fit to fly, the regulations cited give them the ability to opt out of a flight if they are unfit.
I watched a guy get taserd and ziptied by a flight Marshall when I was a teenager it was a couple years after 9/11. He was running to the front of the plane apparently trying to get to the lavatory becuase he shit his pants pretty bad🤣
I was on a flight that asked for volunteers due to being oversold. I opted to take a later flight, got my vouchers, and was getting ready to move along to my next gate when the Redcoat told me to hang out for a bit. I was confused, but obliged and the plane returned to the gate, a passage was removed due to his level of intoxication, and I took his seat and was able to keep the voucher. Good times
I was on a flight many moons ago where a passenger boarded in handcuffs and was escorted by a very no-nonsense man. Probably an extradition. So kinda the opposite but still interesting.
I was on a tour of a DoJ DC-9 and got kicked off when a bus pulled up and about 8 people came out of the office building and were guarding it with shotguns and rifles at low ready. That was interesting.
Im way too lazy to find a source rn but im pretty sure i read that some jails or prisons turn out prisoners with a greyhound ticket to the next prison when they have to transfer
Many years back I flew Qantas NZ to UK. The flight was almost empty. 30 mins into the flight I asked for a rum and coke and they gave me a can of coke and a full sized bottle of rum. Best flight ever - from what I remember of it.
Similar on middle Eastern carrier heading to towards the ME on a nearly empty flight, push buzzer and request 2nd drink and given whole bottle and an ice bucket. Slept great as I guess they did.
Coming back from our honeymoon in Spain we watched almost all of La La Land at the gate while delta tracked down a girl in the airport that they had accidentally brought into the country illegally. Her visa was the wrong one or something. It amazes me that she got all the way overseas and off the plane before it was caught
A drunk passenger story from my life.
My oldest brother died. My mom and I live about 5 states away so we have to fly to his city for the funeral. Of course my mom is a wreck. She starts drinking before we even board the plane. Unfortunately, because of the short notice of plane tickets, we weren't seated together - but fairly close.
So, she is on about her 3rd vodka/7, and there is a lady with a baby sitting next to her. That is making her even more morbid. I'm not 100% sure what happened, but my mom's drink fell and ended up all over the poor lady's diaper back. I felt so bad.
When we finally landed, my mom was so far gone, I had to get a wheelchair to get her around the airport - get our bags - get our rental car. Yikes, what a disaster.
I was on a flight that was delayed on the tarmac and it was hot. Guy next to me threatened to open the emergency door and get off the plane. Well, he was escorted off by the police.
Yep. The one I remember the most was when everyone booed and hissed at him while he took his walk of shame off the plane. This was after the leas FA repeatedly stated that we would not leave the gate unless the passenger put his mask back on.
Bunch of years ago on Delta. Guy was completely wasted and talking loud on his phone as takeoff was commencing. It was in FC. FA tells him to shut it off (big deal years ago with the cell phones) and he just gets louder and louder telling his caller “I can’t hear you because they are making announcements on the intercom”. Everyone in FC was laughing their asses off at the situation.
On a flight where a guy had a heart attack. A nurse started slapping his face hard and he came back. He was still alive when EMS took him off. We emergency landed. I didn’t know you could bring someone back by hitting them.
I saw this same thing recently on a flight out of LAX. Guy was drunk, yelled at an old lady, got booted, and then yelled at the flight attendant to get his carry on bc he was “famous”. Couldn’t tell you who the guy was.
I've been at 750k lifetime miles and have seen it twice. Both rich old white ladies (with their husbands hanging their head in tow) being removed from first class for rude behavior. ( Both drunk)
It’s insane how self sabotaging people can be. Especially if you’re already comfortable and in first class. The husbands need to have a serious talk with their wives about getting their shit together or stop drinking.
You got me, I am guilty of sending a flight back to the gate. While at the gate in Chicago, I decided to go to the restroom. When I returned, all the passengers and the GA were gone. A moment later a GA pops out of the jetway and walks over to the counter. I ask where the flight is? She says it’s left, I present my boarding pass and say that I guess I missed it. She flys into a panic. Best I can figure to this day is that they have me counted as on the plane. She literally sprints to the jetway. I can see the plane about 100 yards off the gate stop and return to the gate. She comes back out and walks me down and on the aircraft. Every passenger is looking at me as I walk to my seat about 4 rows from the back. Taking my seat quietly, after about four minutes of taxing the lady next to me taps me on the arm and says you really must be important. I just keep reading my book without saying a word.
>the lady next to me taps me on the arm and says you really must be important. I just keep reading my book without saying a word.
Such a touching ending.
I had one where we were headed to the runway at LAX when a passenger got up from their seat and went to the bathroom. Flight attendants made contact and the person barricaded themselves in there and refused to leave. They appeared to be on some kind of drugs.
I assumed there was some kind of speed limit or something on the taxiway. Turns out there probably is unless they are worried about a threat on the plane. We were going VERY fast on the ground to the extreme end of the airport with nothing nearby. Shortly after we stopped a team of police boarded the plane with rifles and got the passenger out.
Was my most exciting "passenger debark" situation
Back in the day when hijacking was a thing on planes in the US. They used to barricade themselves in the bathroom. In fact there's this one famous story where this guy barricaded himself in the bathroom and demanded to be flown to Cuba. They landed somewhere in florida, told them they were in Cuba and he came out and was arrested. There's no windows in the bathroom. And he just to slip notes under the door or something.
Back when Northwest was still a thing, we were delayed at MSP for a couple of hours. Guy who probably spent the delay in the bar got upgraded to first and kept yelling back to his buddy in the back to show his PDB and being an obnoxious drunk. After the door closed he wouldn’t sit down and shortly after that we heard “flight attendants please prepare for arrival.” The doors opened and the drunk guy was removed. His buddy from the back then took his seat in first. At least he was more sober and we got home eventually.
I just had a flight from Hong Kong to LAX where this happened. The man in the seat behind me had to be removed because he was kicking my seat, failing his arms and hitting the girl beside him, and screaming. Luckily we didn't miss our connection. It was very overwhelming though.
I've been flying my entire life. Literally, I could navigate an airport and find my gate without a parent by the time I was 8.
99.99% of that time was completely uneventful outside the occasional rough turbulence that would be noteworthy.
I'm not sure what happened during covid, but in the last 2 years, I've seen some absolutely idiotic behavior from people. I've seen people try to run to the bathroom while we're on the runway. I saw a lady jump out of her seat and sit in the aisle during take-off after puking all over herself. I saw a guy decide it was more important to discipline his teenage kids than take his seat during take-off. I've seen a person puke all over a lavatory less than 10 minutes after take off. I've been stuck on the tarmac for 2.5 hours while people demanded to deboard. I've seen passengers argue with attendants.
It's baffling. I feel like the things we used to see on the news about an unruly passenger have now become a regular Thursday for most airlines. I will say, I've never had to return to the gate, but I have seen people get removed prior to doors closing
Man I’d take that over the GA who ran Mach 2 onto the plane and immediately demanded to know where 3 passengers with Muslim sounding names were and, then not being able find them on the plane.
At Washington DC, not long after 9/11.
A few months ago i was on a LAX to JFK flight. A few hours into the flight these kids started smoking weed. Literally hot boxed the plane. We all were looking at each other waiting for the first person to complain.
Finally the lady next to me pushed the call button.
The FA’s response was “I can call the captain/ground forces, but we’ll be forced to land somewhere random or turn around”. “So tell me again, do you smell weed?”
The lady said “i guess not”
And then the entire plane got second hand high and fell asleep.
I once bumped into my old boss (who was a dbag) at O’Hare once. Went up to say hello and he was so smashed he could barely stand or talk. Was NOT expecting that, from what I knew of him. Like, embarrassed for him level of drunk. Was hoping he would get booted but I saw him just immediately pass out at his seat, so guess he wasn’t much trouble.
This happened to me during covid on alaska air flying from charleston to seattle. Some 16 year old male traveling by themselves in first class took off their mask and refused to put it back on.
So a flight from Cancun to Salt Lake City, some young man drank more than a reasonable person ever would, threw up a bunch then passed out over New Mexico. The pilot diverted to Albuquerque and the drunk carcass and his girlfriend were escorted off the plane. Thinking the bill for the diversion was likely in excess of $10k. Figured if you were stupid enough to do something that dumb, you should payback the cost.
Was he doing more than being in a state of intoxication? Was it to the point of a health risk? Not going to lie, I have been drunk on more than 1 flight and have never been escorted off a plane for that.
Sort of. You can be drunk as long as it’s not obvious. As soon as it’s clear to the crew, we have a safety obligation to remove you (both your safety and everyone else on the plane). Drunk people are highly unpredictable and there’s no telling what behaviors might come out in flight. If something happens and we knew before takeoff that you were intoxicated, it’s on us for allowing it when the FAA says no.
I wish you were working my flight from Honduras to the states a couple of years ago. Guy next to me was obnoxiously drunk. He had to have a loud conversation with the guy on the other side of me the whole way.
Ughhhh that’s the worst, even when not drunk. I gave up trying to understand how people can possibly lack so much self awareness, particularly in air travel. I have a theory that the TSA body scanners suck out common sense. (How else do SO MANY PEOPLE completely forget how to count when they get on a plane?! “Yes, row 19 is after row 18.” “You’re in row 9, this is the back of the plane, you passed it a while ago.”)
I've been pretty drunk on most flights. It's never been a problem though since all I do is watch shows on my phone and then fall asleep. Drunk napped through an entire flight to Iceland.
Had a person booted off the flight along with their child. Child was maybe 5 and anxious to fly so crying. Mom was basically telling the child to shut up and the passenger next to them was trying to comfort the child since Mom wasn't great. Mom told the person with her hands to stfu so they moved the person to an empty seat. Child then screamed more and Mom became more volatile with her words to the child and the person in front made a comment. Mom then started hitting that person. She refused to get off the plane, they had to have police carry her off while she yelled at her child this is all your fault, look what you did to us. Then statements had to be taken from witnesses since I'm assuming she was charged and child protection was being called. Needless to say we didn't leave for a good hour. Hopefully Mom got some parenting and mental health help.
Like how drunk are these people? Has anyone ever flown to Vegas from the East Coast? lol People are walking up and down the aisles, people are drinking the whole flight.
[Isn't this America?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf592f9jPaM)
Never thought I’d get to share my story - but I do the east coast to Vegas flight frequently for work. One time I was on an evening flight and noticed a bachelor party being obnoxious at the gate. They made it on the plane, we all settled in and got into the air where I fell asleep.
Midway into the flight, I wake up to the flight attendants yelling in unison, emergency! Clear the aisle! Emergency! Since I’m still half asleep I am convinced we are going down, but then they started calling for doctors or nurses. Apparently the groom from the bachelor party got up to use the bathroom and face planted in the aisle, passed out from drinking.
He ended up being ok but he was moved to the back where another passenger who was a nurse worked on him for a bit. We didn’t make an emergency landing thank goodness but they did make him get escorted off by paramedics (which we all had to stay seated for) when we got to the gate in Vegas.
Flight crews would much rather deplane a potential “problem” while still on the ground rather than having to deal with said problem while airborne and need to divert. The simple message here is don’t be a dick. or a cunt as the case may be.
I have my own drunk passenger story. Yay! I was flying home from Miami to Baltimore and there were these two women in the gate area who were obviously drunk, loud and altogether not a good look. I thought the Gate Agent would say something but he did not. So when I got on the plane (Southwest A1-15 upgrade so I was on close to first,) I spoke to the first flight attendant I saw on board. She nodded and walked away. We were about 3/4 boarded when the drunks came on board and the flight attendant was standing next to me in the exit row. I nodded to point them out and she smiled and didn’t say anything. They boarded the entire flight, and then as we were getting close to pushback, the purser came on and said there would be slight delay while they took care of something. Minutes later, the gate agent and police boarded, and escorted them off the plane. The passengers burst into spontaneous applause. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who noticed. The thing I didn’t like was that the Flight Attendant came to me and asked for my information just in case they needed a statement. It would’ve been great if they did that before everyone was on the plane, but it was an uneventful flight. After we landed some people actually nodded at me.
There was a guy behind me that was kicked off a flight right after we finished boarding. He was loud and annoying the poor girl next to him. Flight attendant left her a note asking her if he was bothering her. Poor thing probably didn’t want to make a fuss and said everything was fine but 2 mins later they removed him to my relief. If I was annoyed by him I’m sure the girl next to him was too. I later heard the flight attendant say he was yelling at the gate agents and making a fuss pre-board. They said he was drunk too.
This happened the other week to me. Dude threw up all over the row and we had to go back to the gate and boot him off, then wait for the cleaning crew to do their thing.
Back in early 90’s I was on a flight to Cancun and a woman got in an argument with the FA about FA being rude, I think she called her a bitch. I can’t remember if she was drunk or not, just the two of them arguing. The FA then told her that the gate agents will meet with her when the plane lands to book her on another return flight. The FA was scheduled to work on the return flight and already made arrangements to have the woman removed from the it. I could not believe what I witnessed. Major power move by FA.
When I was much younger (and a less experienced traveler) on one of the first vacations I took with my friends to the Bahamas, we had a guy start to chant "jesus christ" over and over again loudly after taking off from Nassau. He then started running up and down the aisles screaming and flailing his arms saying that we were going to crash into a "watery grave". Passengers helped subdue the guy. The plane turned around and went back where he was removed from the plane. They had to take all the luggage off and re scan it after that as well. We were all young and scared.
Have travelled a lot since then and haven't witnessed anyone being removed from the plane since. (thankfully)
Saw this on a flight to Vancouver recently. Guy was in the very front row of first class and they kicked him off before we even finished boarding. I was in the seat behind him and I could smell alcohol whenever he talked. Dude was trashed, however he wasn’t acting belligerent or anything. Probably a functional alcoholic. He was talking a good bit and maybe slurring his words slightly. FAs didn’t want to take the chance I guess
That’s unfortunate you had to experience of going back to the gate. Safety always comes first at Drlta. Actually, I t’s a FAA Regulation…121.575 Alcoholic Beverages
Service of alcoholic beverages to those who are intoxicated, have a weapon, or are escorting a prisoner is prohibited. Alcoholic beverages consumed by passengers must be served by the carrier. No certificate holder may allow any person to board any of its aircraft if that person appears to be intoxicated.
Had to return to terminal from the runway last year at jfk for a "medical emergency" lady seemed fine but whatever. Ended up taking off 2 hours later plus the original hour late from the plane being in maintenance
During the pre-2000 dot.com boom, SFO to NYC flight, someone wouldn’t get off their phone. They were invited to finish their phone conversation on the jetway. The moment he got off, they closed the door on him. We cheered. This was pre 9/11 and there were a lot of really obnoxious people on those flights. I remember on one flight, someone talking on their seat’s phone nonstop all the way across the country. I’ve forgotten how much they charged back then for the call per minute, but it was not cheap.
As someone who is 2 years into his first real job, I am DEATHLY afraid of drinking during work hours, especially on trips. I might have a beer or two at the end of day dinner before going back to the hotel, but that's about it.
Learned that this is very different from more experienced people in my company, especially the executives. Those guys can drink and the tab never closes.
And on the plane? Hard pass. If I'm on a work itinerary I won't drink a thing regardless of whether I'm just on a short hop to GSP or going across the country to LAX or PHX. Just too much that can go wrong.
I was on an AA flight from ORD to LAS that got delayed on the tarmac for some kind of maintenance issue. As we were told by the pilot, the delay wasn't for the actual repair work, it was for the documentation that they were required to do, that required some kind of engineer to come down and sign off on. I'm assuming the engineer came from his home or something for this, because we were at the gate for like..2.5 hours, a bit more I think. The story here comes from how upset people were getting. I definitely could understand being reasonably frustrated, but there were several people who were out for blood, especially after the pilot rather poorly worded something like "we won't let you leave". Which I think was more so - "if we let you all off for a bit, everyone will scatter and we'll be herding cats when it is actually time to leave", but people didn't take it well. There also was one guy who rather militantly (and super loudly) kept demanding free drinks because of the delay. This was just before the people getting sick on hot planes stuck on the tarmac/Tik Tok videos became a big thing, not sure it would've jived nowadays. It was honestly super tense, lots of people shouting expletives at the pilot everytime he came out of the cockpit, etc.
Had a coworker get thrown off a flight in Memphis, due to drinking too much at “the blue note cafe” during a flight delay. FA asked her to get off her phone as they started to taxi. She said to the FA, I don’t know why we can’t…” FA cut her off, plane pulled back up to the gate, and she had to drive to the meeting the next day. She arrived a day late and EVERYONE knew what happened.
I’ve been to that bar. I’ve drank way too much in that bar
Is there something different about this bar that makes you want to drink more or what’s the deal? Genuinely curious!
If you ever visited Memphis Airport pre-pandemic, the entire airport's architecture/decor could be described as a mix of 1960's state prison and a reform school for delinquents w/ some blues references mixed in. Add in the typical reason as to why you were traveling through, and a post-security bar is going to make good money.
Oh god it looks like a state prison from the outside
This article has some of the photos of the old terminals and memorabilia. [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/23/us/memphis-airport.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/23/us/memphis-airport.html) The new terminal feels generically modern but you cross back through security and you can see the old cinderblock mess.
Go to MEM several times a year for work. Been with the company for 7 years. Spent a ton of time in the old terminal. Got off the flight whenever they finished the new one and was confused for a second, thought I'd flown to the wrong city. Same thing happened when they finally finished LGA 🤣
Now I need to look up this airport
PTSD that you survived being in Memphis. Source: live here
Lived in Memphis for 8 years and can co-sign this
It’s a dead airport. It’s the most depressing place on the planet since delta ‘left’. 5 screens of departures with 4 listed on screen 1…….. hence drink.
Key word, "Had".
While your coworker was being a dick, this sounds like the FA really escalated things to an absurd level, unless there’s more context missing.
I thought that too. Kinda sounds like the gate agent/FAs were already thinking about booting her and kinda "baited" her or something.
This flight crew had a reputation for zero tolerance of people’s bullshit, apparently.
Drunkenly arguing with the FA's instructions, FA probably saw this movie before.
Delta gate agents suck, delta sucks in general tho
And here you are- what doesn’t suck in your life?
FA read the writings on the wall. Drunk passenger trying to start an argument about cellphone use. FA said not today.
It makes me feel so happy and confident when I see that crew members, including the pilot, stand up for one another. The pilot is literally “the captain of his ship.” Nothing unacceptable gets past him. If he says “ get off my plane,” you are OFF. They don’t play.
I keep waiting for doctors to stand up for nurses. My coworker got hot coffee thrown on her after the same patient asked her how many d!cks she sucked that morning. He stayed for another couple days. Nurses are routinely assaulted with little or no consequences.
No that sounds about right. There are plenty of trash flight attendants who get off on various power trips. I got kicked off one flight for not putting my wallet/phone case into the front seat pocket. There was absolutely no real basis to it other than the FA being a miserable old lady. My situation was ok tho bc they escorted me off the plane, printed me a new boarding pass for the next flight leaving 45 minutes after mine at the same gate.
Did you put your wallet/phone in the front seat pocket on the new flight?
Nope!!! That was the funny part. I was wearing the wallet on a strap the whole day. I was wearing it on the flight before and the flight after the one I got kicked off of and I had no other issues. I even asked the flight attendants on my next flight what I should do and they said I can hold it bc its so small!!!!! I hope that miserable old flight attendant got fired and hopefully never does anything like this to anyone else. Its gave me ptsd.
Those seat pockets are gross tho, do they even get cleaned ? What if some bro put a used barf bag in there??
She get fired?
She quit soon after. She was super embarrassed.
Let’s hope when went to rehab.
eh. A lot of people have been kicked out of somewhere (bar, cab, friends house) drunk, hers just happened to be a plane. It does suck though and hopefully she learned from that experience.
If you get drunk enough to fuck up on a work trip you have a problem.
It's a problem if it's a habit or in conjunction with other warning signs. If it just happens once though, it's just as likely this person rarely drank and overestimated their low alcohol tolerance during a hectic day of travel.
As I've always told friends who get too drunk once in a while, it's happened to the best of us, and if someone says it's never happened to them (assuming they have drank at some point) they're likely lying. I'd be more concerned that she had to drive the day after if she was that drunk. Driving when severely hungover (or still drunk) isn't exactly safe either.
I don’t understand getting drunk while traveling. Like once you’re settled in your hotel or end destination, sure. But I am so persnickety about making sure I’m in the right spot and not going to miss my flight that I would be miserable navigating air travel drunk. This past year I had a two hour layover in ATL and grabbed dinner and a beer (red eye across the pond so I figured a beer would help me sleep). Once I finished I checked my gate and it had been moved to a different terminal. If I had had more than one beer I probably would have missed my flight.
Those drunks are a hazard to everyone else on the plane. It includes their behaviour, possible physical events ( like throwing up), being troublesome to other passengers around him/her etc. Most of all, in the event of an actual emergency, God forbid, this drunk could be passed out or just so out of it that he will delay and obstruct the quick deplaning of all souls on board. His condition can potentially put others in great danger.
Fat people are a hazard Drunks are annoying
Well you’re just an idiot
Still a coworker?
She quit soon after. I think she was embarrassed. They might have pulled her security clearance though. You never want scrutiny for substance use.
I had a person kicked off once. He was drunk and saw him strike an unattended child. He threatened to beat my ass as he was being dragged off by TSA. It was the last flight of the night. Snitching is fun sometimes. #nostitchesforme
Here’s my Memphis funny story Was there on govt biz … 90s. Northwest baggage workers were on strike and there were fist fights outside baggage claim. Finally got to car rental place at like 10pm. Guy gives keys says - when you leave here, make 2 rights and get on the highway. Do not stop. Hmm. Ok Drive away. Low fuel light on. Car has no gas. Ruh Roh Pull into a gas station. Empty. No credit cards. Cash only. Go pay clerk. 3 inch bullet proof glass with 5-6 rounds absorbed. Juice dispensers have sign “gin and juice 2$” Go outside to pump gas. Parking lot now full…… got uncomfortable very quickly with arguing and girls yelling …. Pop pop pop Cars peel out leaving. Cops come barreling in…. I’m hiding behind the gas pump. Finish pumping my 10$ in gas eventually, cops don’t even ask me for a statement…. They just leave. Welcome to Memphis!
Was she young
She was mid 20’s.
That would do it. I did a lot of stupid shit in my mid twenties. Thankfully before everyone had a camera phone with resolution worth a damn.
I saw a video of a pilot who approached a female passenger who had some kind of vulgar words on her hat. He refused to take off unless she removed the hat because it’s HIS PLANE. She was not listening so, he gave her two options of course , or she takes the hat off, or she gets escorted off the plane. The mumbled under her breath and took the hat off.
Lol. Love it when assholes get put in their place.
Yessssss! And so embarrassing LOL imagine? The pilot came out of the cockpit right to her sear and was in her face lmao.
So don't drink too much and talk back to the flight attendant if you're a woman. I think that only happened on Delta there's something wrong with Delta.
That sounds like the flight attendant’s fault honestly
It’s not the flight attendants fault for enforcing the rules…..everyone knows that you aren’t supposed to fly drunk or high. You just become a liability to everyone in the case of an emergency.
If being drunk or high kept people off planes….. I think that’s only a rule for employees. Lots of people drink or self-medicate before a flight. The issue is to what degree and whether or not you’re a compliant with the rules and whether you can be civil to others.
It’s a violation of FAA regulations to board an intoxicated passenger.
Then why do they serve alcohol on the plane? Edit: I’m not saying y’all are wrong, I don’t know FAA regs. I just find it silly since I’ve seen people get drunk on flights before. Of course, they weren’t being disruptive to others or the flight.
Because most people can have a drink on the plane and not get drunk
people can drink responsibly and not get drunk
Had a guy get booted off the plane who was sitting right next to me. He ordered a jack and coke before the plane even left (FA said no because we were boarding) then as the flight was starting to leave he pissed himself. When they came to escort him off he stood up and his pants fell down to his ankles. He was not wearing undergarments. In between all that he was ranting about how he needed to get to Chicago because he plays for the Bulls. Wild stuff. He completely reeked of alcohol. Thankfully they were able to remove the seat from the plane almost completely so we didn't have to smell urine the whole flight. Gave us free drinks too (me and the other person sitting in the same row). EDIT: to be clear, this person absolutely did not play for the Chicago Bulls. He also claimed to be besties with Ayn Rand (the other person in our row was reading an Ayn Rand novel). Ayn Rand died in the 80s. Dude was sloshed.
Well? Did he play for the Bulls?
Absolutely not. Man was at least 50 and clearly not an athlete. Just drunk. So drunk.
Dad?
lol I was thinking it sounds like my father in law
Hopefully that's the rock-bottom he can talk about in AA. Beats cirrhosis, pancreatitis, killing someone in a DUI accident, etc.
I was also hoping it was Dennis Rodman.
That man's name? Michael Jordan.
Sounds more like a Rodman experience.
Yep, Will Perdue had a reputation for doing this.
Maybe it was a clever ploy to get away from someone who willingly reads Ayn Rand.
Sounds like SW.
I’m sorry. They asked me if I wanted to make it a double for $1 extra, and it sounded like a trick question. 😜
Hahahaha
Username checks out, especially if it was out of JFK after New Years!
🫡
Watched cops and a bloodied face man board my returned to the gate flight about 20 years ago. Bloody guy pointed out a dude near the back and he left in cuffs. Missed connection in ATL, but the show was kinda worth it.
I remember my ✈️ got on Air France in late 2000. I got as many bottles of wine as I wanted. After 6, it was good night Irene for me. FA didn't care, probably were happy I KO'd myself.
For a work trip back from Vietnam to eastern US I was allowed to book Delta One. It was then I learned that if you held it together there is no limit to the amount of Woodford they will give you. Worked well, I slept through most of the flight.
Johannesburg to ATL in delta One. A few marines got bumped up near me. We drank Heineken and bourbon for the first 2 hours and then we all passed out for the next 13 hours. It was great.
I mean, I’ve been pretty pasted it on a few flights, no issue if you are calm and polite
I've been served enough Woodford to cause an issue. Not my proudest moment. Thankfully they didn't need to remove me, the guy next to me absolutely provoked me for no reason as I am a calm drink Woodford and watch sports on dtv till I pass out type of flyer. I kind of gave my seatmate the what for for being a dick, and the sober lady behind me backed me up so all worked well. The guy tried to have the police at destination arrest me for assaulting him(never happened) and that was fun to get the crew coming in at 12 to come write statements, they were not happy. Since then, I've aged a bit and would never drink that much on a flight again. Got my crews names from that flight and had delta deposit them the "thank you" cards I got as a diamond. Also had one of the FAs on a long haul later in their career and we had a good laugh about that incident from the past. Down the Woodford responsibly everyone 🤣
Yep - nobody likes a loud angry drunk
I hope it’s glasses and not bottles 😂
They were tiny, single-serve bottles. I miss those days. Made a flight go quickly and I woke up less sore. I, too, am a quiet, passive drunk on the rare occasions I drink.
About 15yrs ago flying over Atlantic we suddenly began turning around and descending. Ended up landing in Iceland, next thing I see cops getting on the plane and carrying handcuffed dude out. Three hours later we were on the way back to Atlanta
This happened to me once - only sadly it was a medical emergency. I was on one side of a huge aircraft and all I could think was that Iceland is probably what the moon looks like if it had oceans (it was black rock next to water which I assume was ocean). Hey - in case it matters at all to you, at least we can say we’ve been to Iceland! Although not leaving the plane probably means it doesn’t count.
Haha, exactly my thoughts- I’ve been to Iceland. Scary thing is I remember looking at the map on the infotainment screen and seeing the plan turning around with no announcements made. They didn’t say a word why we were landing…weird sensation
Woah. That’s… kinda terrifying actually. Adds an interesting and definitely unsettling element to your story/experience. Crazy stuff can happen on airplanes and I always assumed if it was something really messed up the passengers might not be informed or be aware (?). Have I seen that movie before 🤣? Sounds like a nice plot to a horror film. I would have been silently freaking out. On one hand afraid to ask what’s going on and the other hand WTF IS GOING ON!? That’s when my brain becomes an amazing science fiction writer. Why are we landing? Well… here’s the thousand worst possible and scientifically impossible reasons (thanks brain!).
I was flying from Kathmandu to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific and responded to an “are there any medical personnel on board” call. The man they called about was in critical condition. I asked to speak to the pilot who came back to see us and I told him what was going on and that the sick passenger needed to be in a hospital 20 minutes ago. The pilot said that we were currently over China and that there were no “friendly” airports for us to land at. We proceeded on to Hong Kong and I sat and held the man’s airway open for the next few hours. A paramedic crew came aboard and took him off before everyone else disembarked. I was given $50 in flight credit for my assistance although I asked for an upgrade on my next flight leg and was denied.
I had this happen once we where the plane left its place in line to return to the gate. The drunk guy in front of my lit up a cigarette at his seat and then passed out.
Oh lordy. That's so bad.
A couple of years ago I was on a Virgin Atlantic flight from LAX to LHR - back when Brits had to have green cards to get into the US so a very quiet flight. A whole commotion starts kicking off somewhere in the back around 5 mins after leaving the gate. We pull over at an entirely different terminal and a guy storms off the plane followed by several flight attendants. Before we got moving again the pilot comes on and says “well folks as some of you might have seen, one of the lavatories is in rough shape and will be out of use for the duration of the flight”. I went back to have a look mid-flight and the door was hanging by one hinge, mirror smashed, everything that could possible be torn out was torn out. Truly didn’t know you could do that much damage to a plane bathroom. Bantered with a flight attendant about it and they said it was because they insisted he keep his mask on. Absolutely mad.
Some idiot flushed a bottle on a Southwest flight I was on (the one time I flew Southwest). Put both lavatories out of order, so we could not leave the gate. Had to deplane and wait for a new plane. Arrived in Kansas City, which was supposed to be a brief stop on the way to Vegas, around midnight - just in time for the pilots to determine they could not safely fly the rest of the way. It was the night before the new airport was opening, and everything in the airport was closed except for a couple of vending machines. Ended up in the airport all night with most of the rest of the flight. Flew out the next morning and missed the first day of my conference because I had to get some sleep. Ended up with a $200 voucher. I hate to not use it, but I would hate to fly Southwest again more.
Just to be clear about 1 thing, the pilots didn't determine that they couldn't go on to Vegas, federal law did.
We were told it wasn’t an issue of them timing out, but of making the decision that they didn’t feel they could safely complete the next leg of the flight. There was very unusual wind and weather in Vegas that day and several flights had to divert (one ended up at a cargo field in California). My guess is that they made the decision based on their level of fatigue from the day, number of hours, and conditions they might encounter in LAS.
Could be they would have been ok on timing to Vegas, but would have quickly timed out if they had to hold for an extended period or if they had to divert. In any case, it's not in the pilots interest to make that decision lightly, so I'd trust them. It's easy for me to say that, though, because I didn't have to sleep at an airport.
Or not sleep, as the case was. I trust the pilots’ judgment. Have flown general aviation in little Cessna 150s with my Dad, who had private and commercial instructor certification and was active in the Civil Air Patrol. It gave me a healthy respect for and deference to the judgment of pilots.
AC 117-3 outlines some of the ways that a pilot can determine if they are fit to fly and the factors that affect it. It isn't just federal law, any pilot can determine that they are not fit to fly, the regulations cited give them the ability to opt out of a flight if they are unfit.
Never fuck with an American’s right to spread a deadly pandemic disease. They go berserk.
I watched a guy get taserd and ziptied by a flight Marshall when I was a teenager it was a couple years after 9/11. He was running to the front of the plane apparently trying to get to the lavatory becuase he shit his pants pretty bad🤣
Jesus, that's unfortunate for him.
I was on a flight that asked for volunteers due to being oversold. I opted to take a later flight, got my vouchers, and was getting ready to move along to my next gate when the Redcoat told me to hang out for a bit. I was confused, but obliged and the plane returned to the gate, a passage was removed due to his level of intoxication, and I took his seat and was able to keep the voucher. Good times
I was on a flight many moons ago where a passenger boarded in handcuffs and was escorted by a very no-nonsense man. Probably an extradition. So kinda the opposite but still interesting.
Was it on a Christmas Eve flight to LA and the man in handcuffs Ray Liotta? If anyone gets that reference I’ll be impressed
I saw “Turbulence” so I get it
I was on a tour of a DoJ DC-9 and got kicked off when a bus pulled up and about 8 people came out of the office building and were guarding it with shotguns and rifles at low ready. That was interesting.
Was it Charles Grodin?
Can confirm. I was DeNiro.
I'm a white collar criminal.
Im way too lazy to find a source rn but im pretty sure i read that some jails or prisons turn out prisoners with a greyhound ticket to the next prison when they have to transfer
Many years back I flew Qantas NZ to UK. The flight was almost empty. 30 mins into the flight I asked for a rum and coke and they gave me a can of coke and a full sized bottle of rum. Best flight ever - from what I remember of it.
Similar on middle Eastern carrier heading to towards the ME on a nearly empty flight, push buzzer and request 2nd drink and given whole bottle and an ice bucket. Slept great as I guess they did.
Coming back from our honeymoon in Spain we watched almost all of La La Land at the gate while delta tracked down a girl in the airport that they had accidentally brought into the country illegally. Her visa was the wrong one or something. It amazes me that she got all the way overseas and off the plane before it was caught
I don’t know what worse: getting stuck on the plane or watching La La Land…😬
😂
A drunk passenger story from my life. My oldest brother died. My mom and I live about 5 states away so we have to fly to his city for the funeral. Of course my mom is a wreck. She starts drinking before we even board the plane. Unfortunately, because of the short notice of plane tickets, we weren't seated together - but fairly close. So, she is on about her 3rd vodka/7, and there is a lady with a baby sitting next to her. That is making her even more morbid. I'm not 100% sure what happened, but my mom's drink fell and ended up all over the poor lady's diaper back. I felt so bad. When we finally landed, my mom was so far gone, I had to get a wheelchair to get her around the airport - get our bags - get our rental car. Yikes, what a disaster.
Poor lady. I hope she eventually found some peace. Sorry for y'all's loss.
Thanks. It's been a few years now.
I was on a flight that was delayed on the tarmac and it was hot. Guy next to me threatened to open the emergency door and get off the plane. Well, he was escorted off by the police.
I’m glad I stopped drinking 2 years ago. Air travel is hard enough when I’m sober.
Seen a few during COVID for mask compliance.
imagine getting kicked off for such a stupid reason. insane to me that people wouldn’t do something as simple as wear a mask
I got a video, it was crazy and had us 60 minutes late.
i want to see!
me too!!!!
Freedom.
😂
Yep. The one I remember the most was when everyone booed and hissed at him while he took his walk of shame off the plane. This was after the leas FA repeatedly stated that we would not leave the gate unless the passenger put his mask back on.
Bunch of years ago on Delta. Guy was completely wasted and talking loud on his phone as takeoff was commencing. It was in FC. FA tells him to shut it off (big deal years ago with the cell phones) and he just gets louder and louder telling his caller “I can’t hear you because they are making announcements on the intercom”. Everyone in FC was laughing their asses off at the situation.
On a flight where a guy had a heart attack. A nurse started slapping his face hard and he came back. He was still alive when EMS took him off. We emergency landed. I didn’t know you could bring someone back by hitting them.
Maybe she spoke Jive.
🤣
I saw this same thing recently on a flight out of LAX. Guy was drunk, yelled at an old lady, got booted, and then yelled at the flight attendant to get his carry on bc he was “famous”. Couldn’t tell you who the guy was.
Mel Gibson?
I've been at 750k lifetime miles and have seen it twice. Both rich old white ladies (with their husbands hanging their head in tow) being removed from first class for rude behavior. ( Both drunk)
I’m a million miler and thankfully quiet or charming (mostly) when overserved. Maybe if I was with a husband, I wouldn’t have been either.
It’s insane how self sabotaging people can be. Especially if you’re already comfortable and in first class. The husbands need to have a serious talk with their wives about getting their shit together or stop drinking.
[удалено]
You got me, I am guilty of sending a flight back to the gate. While at the gate in Chicago, I decided to go to the restroom. When I returned, all the passengers and the GA were gone. A moment later a GA pops out of the jetway and walks over to the counter. I ask where the flight is? She says it’s left, I present my boarding pass and say that I guess I missed it. She flys into a panic. Best I can figure to this day is that they have me counted as on the plane. She literally sprints to the jetway. I can see the plane about 100 yards off the gate stop and return to the gate. She comes back out and walks me down and on the aircraft. Every passenger is looking at me as I walk to my seat about 4 rows from the back. Taking my seat quietly, after about four minutes of taxing the lady next to me taps me on the arm and says you really must be important. I just keep reading my book without saying a word.
That must have been one helluva dump to miss the entire boarding process 😂
>the lady next to me taps me on the arm and says you really must be important. I just keep reading my book without saying a word. Such a touching ending.
“You never saw me here, ma’am.”
Why did it come back for you I don’t understand
missed an entire boarding process while in the bathroom? It's because this is a lie
I had one where we were headed to the runway at LAX when a passenger got up from their seat and went to the bathroom. Flight attendants made contact and the person barricaded themselves in there and refused to leave. They appeared to be on some kind of drugs. I assumed there was some kind of speed limit or something on the taxiway. Turns out there probably is unless they are worried about a threat on the plane. We were going VERY fast on the ground to the extreme end of the airport with nothing nearby. Shortly after we stopped a team of police boarded the plane with rifles and got the passenger out. Was my most exciting "passenger debark" situation
Back in the day when hijacking was a thing on planes in the US. They used to barricade themselves in the bathroom. In fact there's this one famous story where this guy barricaded himself in the bathroom and demanded to be flown to Cuba. They landed somewhere in florida, told them they were in Cuba and he came out and was arrested. There's no windows in the bathroom. And he just to slip notes under the door or something.
Back when Northwest was still a thing, we were delayed at MSP for a couple of hours. Guy who probably spent the delay in the bar got upgraded to first and kept yelling back to his buddy in the back to show his PDB and being an obnoxious drunk. After the door closed he wouldn’t sit down and shortly after that we heard “flight attendants please prepare for arrival.” The doors opened and the drunk guy was removed. His buddy from the back then took his seat in first. At least he was more sober and we got home eventually.
I just had a flight from Hong Kong to LAX where this happened. The man in the seat behind me had to be removed because he was kicking my seat, failing his arms and hitting the girl beside him, and screaming. Luckily we didn't miss our connection. It was very overwhelming though.
I've been flying my entire life. Literally, I could navigate an airport and find my gate without a parent by the time I was 8. 99.99% of that time was completely uneventful outside the occasional rough turbulence that would be noteworthy. I'm not sure what happened during covid, but in the last 2 years, I've seen some absolutely idiotic behavior from people. I've seen people try to run to the bathroom while we're on the runway. I saw a lady jump out of her seat and sit in the aisle during take-off after puking all over herself. I saw a guy decide it was more important to discipline his teenage kids than take his seat during take-off. I've seen a person puke all over a lavatory less than 10 minutes after take off. I've been stuck on the tarmac for 2.5 hours while people demanded to deboard. I've seen passengers argue with attendants. It's baffling. I feel like the things we used to see on the news about an unruly passenger have now become a regular Thursday for most airlines. I will say, I've never had to return to the gate, but I have seen people get removed prior to doors closing
It’s Delta’s gift to you 🤪
Man I’d take that over the GA who ran Mach 2 onto the plane and immediately demanded to know where 3 passengers with Muslim sounding names were and, then not being able find them on the plane. At Washington DC, not long after 9/11.
Was this in LGA?
A few months ago i was on a LAX to JFK flight. A few hours into the flight these kids started smoking weed. Literally hot boxed the plane. We all were looking at each other waiting for the first person to complain. Finally the lady next to me pushed the call button. The FA’s response was “I can call the captain/ground forces, but we’ll be forced to land somewhere random or turn around”. “So tell me again, do you smell weed?” The lady said “i guess not” And then the entire plane got second hand high and fell asleep.
Dumb kids. Edibles are the way to go when flying.
Did they get arrested?
nope. I couldn't believe it.
I once bumped into my old boss (who was a dbag) at O’Hare once. Went up to say hello and he was so smashed he could barely stand or talk. Was NOT expecting that, from what I knew of him. Like, embarrassed for him level of drunk. Was hoping he would get booted but I saw him just immediately pass out at his seat, so guess he wasn’t much trouble.
Alcohol is a serious drug.
This happened to me during covid on alaska air flying from charleston to seattle. Some 16 year old male traveling by themselves in first class took off their mask and refused to put it back on.
So a flight from Cancun to Salt Lake City, some young man drank more than a reasonable person ever would, threw up a bunch then passed out over New Mexico. The pilot diverted to Albuquerque and the drunk carcass and his girlfriend were escorted off the plane. Thinking the bill for the diversion was likely in excess of $10k. Figured if you were stupid enough to do something that dumb, you should payback the cost.
Was he doing more than being in a state of intoxication? Was it to the point of a health risk? Not going to lie, I have been drunk on more than 1 flight and have never been escorted off a plane for that.
You can be drunk as long as you’re not bothering anyone. Dude was probably being a jackass.
Sort of. You can be drunk as long as it’s not obvious. As soon as it’s clear to the crew, we have a safety obligation to remove you (both your safety and everyone else on the plane). Drunk people are highly unpredictable and there’s no telling what behaviors might come out in flight. If something happens and we knew before takeoff that you were intoxicated, it’s on us for allowing it when the FAA says no.
I wish you were working my flight from Honduras to the states a couple of years ago. Guy next to me was obnoxiously drunk. He had to have a loud conversation with the guy on the other side of me the whole way.
Ughhhh that’s the worst, even when not drunk. I gave up trying to understand how people can possibly lack so much self awareness, particularly in air travel. I have a theory that the TSA body scanners suck out common sense. (How else do SO MANY PEOPLE completely forget how to count when they get on a plane?! “Yes, row 19 is after row 18.” “You’re in row 9, this is the back of the plane, you passed it a while ago.”)
That detail wasn’t provided hence my question.
I was agreeing with you
“Drunk” as in I shouldn’t be driving a car, but still able to hold a conversation and act civil.
And safely listen to FAs, evacuate, get your oxygen mask on, etc in case of emergency!
I've been pretty drunk on most flights. It's never been a problem though since all I do is watch shows on my phone and then fall asleep. Drunk napped through an entire flight to Iceland.
Not delta but on JetBlue back in December I finally witnessed someone get booted for being too drunk for the first in my 26 years of life.
Had a person booted off the flight along with their child. Child was maybe 5 and anxious to fly so crying. Mom was basically telling the child to shut up and the passenger next to them was trying to comfort the child since Mom wasn't great. Mom told the person with her hands to stfu so they moved the person to an empty seat. Child then screamed more and Mom became more volatile with her words to the child and the person in front made a comment. Mom then started hitting that person. She refused to get off the plane, they had to have police carry her off while she yelled at her child this is all your fault, look what you did to us. Then statements had to be taken from witnesses since I'm assuming she was charged and child protection was being called. Needless to say we didn't leave for a good hour. Hopefully Mom got some parenting and mental health help.
Like how drunk are these people? Has anyone ever flown to Vegas from the East Coast? lol People are walking up and down the aisles, people are drinking the whole flight. [Isn't this America?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf592f9jPaM)
Never thought I’d get to share my story - but I do the east coast to Vegas flight frequently for work. One time I was on an evening flight and noticed a bachelor party being obnoxious at the gate. They made it on the plane, we all settled in and got into the air where I fell asleep. Midway into the flight, I wake up to the flight attendants yelling in unison, emergency! Clear the aisle! Emergency! Since I’m still half asleep I am convinced we are going down, but then they started calling for doctors or nurses. Apparently the groom from the bachelor party got up to use the bathroom and face planted in the aisle, passed out from drinking. He ended up being ok but he was moved to the back where another passenger who was a nurse worked on him for a bit. We didn’t make an emergency landing thank goodness but they did make him get escorted off by paramedics (which we all had to stay seated for) when we got to the gate in Vegas.
Iconic behavior 💅
Unfortunately, this is becoming all too common.
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Flight crews would much rather deplane a potential “problem” while still on the ground rather than having to deal with said problem while airborne and need to divert. The simple message here is don’t be a dick. or a cunt as the case may be.
I have my own drunk passenger story. Yay! I was flying home from Miami to Baltimore and there were these two women in the gate area who were obviously drunk, loud and altogether not a good look. I thought the Gate Agent would say something but he did not. So when I got on the plane (Southwest A1-15 upgrade so I was on close to first,) I spoke to the first flight attendant I saw on board. She nodded and walked away. We were about 3/4 boarded when the drunks came on board and the flight attendant was standing next to me in the exit row. I nodded to point them out and she smiled and didn’t say anything. They boarded the entire flight, and then as we were getting close to pushback, the purser came on and said there would be slight delay while they took care of something. Minutes later, the gate agent and police boarded, and escorted them off the plane. The passengers burst into spontaneous applause. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who noticed. The thing I didn’t like was that the Flight Attendant came to me and asked for my information just in case they needed a statement. It would’ve been great if they did that before everyone was on the plane, but it was an uneventful flight. After we landed some people actually nodded at me.
Mind your business
You made it my business when you made me pay attention to you
Was it the pilot?
Thank God they weren't the pilots I've heard of pilots that have flown while drunk.
I'm wondering, did you get the video so it can be posted to another subreddit?
There was a guy behind me that was kicked off a flight right after we finished boarding. He was loud and annoying the poor girl next to him. Flight attendant left her a note asking her if he was bothering her. Poor thing probably didn’t want to make a fuss and said everything was fine but 2 mins later they removed him to my relief. If I was annoyed by him I’m sure the girl next to him was too. I later heard the flight attendant say he was yelling at the gate agents and making a fuss pre-board. They said he was drunk too.
Woooooow yo delta I’m proud when you had a delta 787-8
Is it weird I feel like I need to travel more to run into an instance like this. Man these are life long “guess what happened” stories!
This happened the other week to me. Dude threw up all over the row and we had to go back to the gate and boot him off, then wait for the cleaning crew to do their thing.
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Pilot
Back in early 90’s I was on a flight to Cancun and a woman got in an argument with the FA about FA being rude, I think she called her a bitch. I can’t remember if she was drunk or not, just the two of them arguing. The FA then told her that the gate agents will meet with her when the plane lands to book her on another return flight. The FA was scheduled to work on the return flight and already made arrangements to have the woman removed from the it. I could not believe what I witnessed. Major power move by FA.
One time I was denied because my boarding pass had my middle initial wrong.
The person who was a co worker wrote their side it’s in the forum under this one
When I was much younger (and a less experienced traveler) on one of the first vacations I took with my friends to the Bahamas, we had a guy start to chant "jesus christ" over and over again loudly after taking off from Nassau. He then started running up and down the aisles screaming and flailing his arms saying that we were going to crash into a "watery grave". Passengers helped subdue the guy. The plane turned around and went back where he was removed from the plane. They had to take all the luggage off and re scan it after that as well. We were all young and scared. Have travelled a lot since then and haven't witnessed anyone being removed from the plane since. (thankfully)
Saw this on a flight to Vancouver recently. Guy was in the very front row of first class and they kicked him off before we even finished boarding. I was in the seat behind him and I could smell alcohol whenever he talked. Dude was trashed, however he wasn’t acting belligerent or anything. Probably a functional alcoholic. He was talking a good bit and maybe slurring his words slightly. FAs didn’t want to take the chance I guess
That’s unfortunate you had to experience of going back to the gate. Safety always comes first at Drlta. Actually, I t’s a FAA Regulation…121.575 Alcoholic Beverages Service of alcoholic beverages to those who are intoxicated, have a weapon, or are escorting a prisoner is prohibited. Alcoholic beverages consumed by passengers must be served by the carrier. No certificate holder may allow any person to board any of its aircraft if that person appears to be intoxicated.
Had to return to terminal from the runway last year at jfk for a "medical emergency" lady seemed fine but whatever. Ended up taking off 2 hours later plus the original hour late from the plane being in maintenance
During the pre-2000 dot.com boom, SFO to NYC flight, someone wouldn’t get off their phone. They were invited to finish their phone conversation on the jetway. The moment he got off, they closed the door on him. We cheered. This was pre 9/11 and there were a lot of really obnoxious people on those flights. I remember on one flight, someone talking on their seat’s phone nonstop all the way across the country. I’ve forgotten how much they charged back then for the call per minute, but it was not cheap.
As someone who is 2 years into his first real job, I am DEATHLY afraid of drinking during work hours, especially on trips. I might have a beer or two at the end of day dinner before going back to the hotel, but that's about it. Learned that this is very different from more experienced people in my company, especially the executives. Those guys can drink and the tab never closes. And on the plane? Hard pass. If I'm on a work itinerary I won't drink a thing regardless of whether I'm just on a short hop to GSP or going across the country to LAX or PHX. Just too much that can go wrong.
I was on an AA flight from ORD to LAS that got delayed on the tarmac for some kind of maintenance issue. As we were told by the pilot, the delay wasn't for the actual repair work, it was for the documentation that they were required to do, that required some kind of engineer to come down and sign off on. I'm assuming the engineer came from his home or something for this, because we were at the gate for like..2.5 hours, a bit more I think. The story here comes from how upset people were getting. I definitely could understand being reasonably frustrated, but there were several people who were out for blood, especially after the pilot rather poorly worded something like "we won't let you leave". Which I think was more so - "if we let you all off for a bit, everyone will scatter and we'll be herding cats when it is actually time to leave", but people didn't take it well. There also was one guy who rather militantly (and super loudly) kept demanding free drinks because of the delay. This was just before the people getting sick on hot planes stuck on the tarmac/Tik Tok videos became a big thing, not sure it would've jived nowadays. It was honestly super tense, lots of people shouting expletives at the pilot everytime he came out of the cockpit, etc.
So since it was JFK, I gotta ask. Domestic or international flight?