Picture it: You battled your way through Thanksgiving holiday traffic going to the airport, and waited in what felt like the world’s longest security line, only to have your flight turn around 45 minutes in because of a sick passenger.
How upset would you be to find that the woman was faking illness to get a better seat?
That’s exactly what happened to passengers on an American Airlines flight heading from Pensacola, Florida, to Miami on November 29, 2019.
Passengers who cause flight delays or groundings can be fined by airlines seeking restitution for the costs of these diversions; they may even face criminal charges. The Washington Post reports that in the United States, fines levied by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) could be as much as $25,000 per violation.
Unfortunately, it’s usually not the perpetrators who end up paying for their transgressions. More often than not, it’s the airlines, airports, and other passengers who suffer most. Case in point—no criminal charges have been filed against the woman on the Miami flight.
While we wait for some justice from this outrageous incident, we’ve pulled together some recent crimes—from the ridiculous to the dangerous—and their punishments, to get a better idea of how much your bad behavior can really cost you.
The farter
Airline: Transavia Airlines Punishment: Removed from the flight, banned from the airline
In a truly bizzare incident, a Transavia Airlines flight from Dubai to Amsterdam was grounded in Feburary 2018 because of a man who unapologetically passed gas through the entire flight. His actions resulted in a fight with the passengers seated beside him. The plane was diverted to Vienna and police removed the farter, the man he was fighting with, and—inexplicably—two women seated in the same aisle who were apparently uninvolved. All four passengers are now banned from the low-cost airline.
The woman who yelled at a baby
Airline: Delta Airlines Punishment: Removed from flight, lost her job
Susan Peirez, who yelled at a 19-year-old mother and her baby on a Delta Airlines flight on February 6, 2019, was not only escorted off the plane, but she also lost her job at the New York State Council on the Arts. Peirez was intially using obscenities while complaining about being seated in the back of the flight when Marissa Rundell asked her to stop using such language in front of her eight-month-old son. Peirez told Rundell to shut up, and shortly after, Rundell started recording a video of the incident. The situation escalated, with Peirez asking to sit farther from the baby and threatening to have the flight attendant fired, before she was removed from the plane. Rundell shared the video with her family, but it soon went viral and Peirez’s employers saw it.
Many people try to sneak animals onto airplanes to avoid paying pet fees.
Courtesy of Shutterstock
The man who snuck his chubby cat onto his flight
Airline: Aeroflot Punishment: Loss of frequent flier status and 400,000 miles
On November 5, 2019, Mikhail Galin tricked Russian airline Aeroflot to subvert the carrier’s pet policies. At 22 pounds, Viktor the cat was too heavy to fly in the cabin, but Galin didn’t want his furry friend to have to ride in the cargo hold, so he pulled a bait and switch, finding a skinnier look-alike for the weigh-in. And he would have gotten away with it too, except that Galin couldn’t resist posting photos on social media. Aeroflot saw the post and removed Galin from its frequent flier program, wiping out the nearly 400,000 miles the jet-setter had accumulated. Galin, who learned about his punishment through news reports, has a lighthearted attitude about the whole thing, acknowledging the wrongdoing but not repenting.
The couple that joined the Mile High Club
Airline: United Airlines Punishment: $500
Enrique Gonzales was fined $500 for performing a sexual act on a United flight to San Antonio on Feburary 3, 2019. It’s the maximum fine for the criminal offense of having sex in public, but Gonzales did escape a possible 90-day jail sentence. A couple from 2017 faced felony charges for a similar indiscretion (though it is not clear whether they were ever actually charged). Gonzales, who was arrested when the plane landed and had to pay a $1,000 bail, apologized, calling it a one-time mistake. His wife was not charged.
A man caught vaping on a flight tried to claim he didn’t realize that smoking is prohibited on flights.
Courtesy of Shutterstock
The man who vaped on a plane
Airline: Spirit Punishment: Lifetime ban
During a Spirit Airlines flight from Detroit to New Orleans on June 4, 2019, a passenger took a smoke break in the plane’s bathroom and ended up being banned from the airline for life. Initially, he had attempted to smoke in the cabin, taking a drag from his e-cigarette and exhaling into a bag. When a flight attendant saw him and admonished him, he retreated to the bathroom, where he set off the smoke alarm. The man won’t face criminal charges—once on the ground, he was cooperative with the local sheriff’s department. But get this: He said he didn’t realize that smoking isn’t allowed on flights.
The belligerent drunk
Airline: Hawaiian Airlines Punishment: $97,817 and three months’ probation
In November of 2016, James August’s disruptive behavior forced his nonstop flight to New York to return to Honolulu to remove him, reports the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Not only did August threaten his girlfriend, her children, other passengers, and crew members, but he also smacked a flight attendant on her shoulder with the back of his hand. He had been drinking both before and during the flight, according to an affadavit, and became increasingly aggressive. August pled guilty to interfering with a flight crew, admitting to the judge that he doesn’t remember much of what happened. His $97,817 fine covered the fuel, maintenance, and crew costs of the diverted flight, as well as the money the airline lost rebooking passengers on other airlines. It did not, however, cover the $46,900 worth of meal vouchers the carrier handed out to the delayed passengers.
The dangerously aggressive woman
Airline: Jet2 Punishment: $106,000 and a lifetime ban
On a Jet2 flight to Turkey in June of 2019, 25-year-old Chloe Haines became so alarmingly disruptive that her behavior triggered a hijack alert, and two fighter jets from the Royal Air Force were called to escort the plane back to Stansted Airport for an emergency landing. About 45 minutes after takeoff, the woman reportedly became aggressive and abusive, tried to open the plane’s emergency exit, and physically lashed out at flight attendants, according to a statement released by the airline. Jet2 has demanded she pay about $106,000 to cover the costs that resulted from the rerouting.
>>Next: Opt out of Face Scans, Be Screened in Private—Airport Rights You Need to Know
