Intoxication In The Sky: 6 Times People Acted Out in the Air

There’s nothing wrong with sipping alcohol on a plane, but there are times when the level of intoxication brought out the worst in people.

Even for seasoned travelers, flying can be a headache. We all have our coping mechanisms. Some people pray or meditate. Others listen to music, or drink a glass of wine. All of those things are fine. However, when it comes to drinking on an aircraft, it’s important to know your limits to avoid your intoxication level being so high that you create an unpleasant experience for other passengers and the crew.

Years ago, if there was alcohol-induced foolishness on board, only those on the plane would know. Now, thanks to social media, the rest of us can get a front row seat to the action and can weigh in. You can almost always count on that one passenger to whip out their phone when these incidents occur. Some are so outrageous, they would defy belief if they weren’t documented.

Here are six times when the level of intoxication of a passenger caused drama in the sky.

I’m Hungry! Intoxicated Passenger Bites Crew Member

Well, this one is bizarre. One drunk passenger thought it would be a riot to bite the finger of a flight attendant. As it turned out, the passenger was himself a pilot for another carrier.

The Turkish Airlines flight was on its way to Istanbul from Jakarta and required an emergency landing in Kuala Lumpur.

When this situation happened, Travel Noire reported that the video featured a man “throwing punches” at a flight attendant who was holding plastic handcuffs. Passengers watched as the situation continued to escalate, as more flight attendants tried to calm things down. You’ll even see one of the crew members start kicking the passenger on the plane.

Drunk Man Empties His Stomach Contents

We’re glad we weren’t present for this.

An American Airlines flight was approaching Los Angeles when a man (who was already intoxicated when he boarded), threw up his stomach contents.

Before it got to that point, travel writer JT Genter explained the man was “rambling loudly to another passenger about his sex life. That was, to a point, just an annoyance until the puking started. The man sitting in the window seat and another passenger in front were in the line of fire.”

What’s worse is that the man who got the lion’s share of the vomit had to sit in his soiled clothing. The crew, apparently, wasn’t very helpful.

This is one of the many reasons that you shouldn’t allow yourself to get to this level of intoxication while flying.

Three Passengers Were Drinking, Though It Wasn’t Allowed

This incident involves three passengers on board an AeroMéxico flight, which was on its way to Mexico from Canada. It resulted in the flight having to be diverted, and we can imagine the annoyance of the other passengers.

As noted by Flight Aware, “two men and one woman — were caught drinking alcohol on the plane after being told alcohol was not allowed on the flight by a flight attendant.”

The passengers also refused to wear a mask, even when asked by the crew. The flight attendant called the pilot, who then diverted to Houston.

Passenger Exposes Himself And Urinates On Woman

All of these stories are pretty grim, but this one may be in a class by itself. Luckily, the culprit was punished.

A man on board an Air India flight bound for Delhi was apparently too intoxicated to think clearly. He allegedly exposed himself and urinated on an elderly woman.

The woman went on to pen a letter to the carrier’s chairman. “My clothes, shoes and bag were completely soaked in urine,” the woman wrote in her letter. “The stewardess followed me to the seat, verified that it smelled of urine and sprayed disinfectant on my bag and shoes.”

Later, the man was fired from his job and arrested.

Drunk Passenger Destroys Plane After Glucose Injection

One drunk man passed out and woke up to find a needle inside him without his consent.

As reported by Travel Noire, the incident occurred on GOL Airlines flight 1556, from São Paulo (CGH) to Recife (REC) on Sunday Aug. 14, 2022.

The video shows the Brazilian man waking up and immediately having a violent reaction to the injection. He can be seen kicking the seats in front of him. In reports about the incident, the police confirmed that the flier was intoxicated before the injection.

This Food Ain’t It! Drunk Passenger Screams At Crew For Cold Food

A man on board a Ryanair flight lashed out at the crew for allegedly serving him cold lasagna. His wife who tried to calm him was also in the line of fire.

According to The Mirror, “the man took off his wedding ring and threw it at her.”

He had supposedly been drinking before boarding the plane and had Prosecco while on board, which certainly raised his intoxication level.

The man was arrested when the plane landed in Edinburgh and narrowly escaped jail time.