Recorded in the beautiful North Georgia Mountains
Time again for the monthly crazy travel roundup
Here’s a question, are you familiar with blaquechica954? She’s on IG and has 88 posts, 970 followers, and 381 accounts that she’s following
Her bio is as follows - I live intentionally gregariously. I face my days with gusto. Laughter is the embodiment of my soul.
On May 7th blaquechica954 in case you didn’t know, 954 is the area code for Broward county, think Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Hollywood, Coral Springs, and about a half-dozen other South Florida cities. So blaquechica954 shared a video to her Instagram account as she went through TSA at Ft Lauderdale Airport. What wasn't expected was that TSA would request she removed her cap, which fittingly had “Bad Hair Day” printed on it and said hat, just so happened to have her wig attached…. Yes her wig.
This was the exchange -
TSA: You have to remove the hat.
Me: Are you serious? No, you can't be!
TSA: Yes, I have to check underneath the hat.
Me: But, it's a wig," she added.
"When TSA stops you from being fabulous," she captioned the clip.
Unfortunately, blaquechica954 wasn’t all that fixated on being a true influencer as her account has gone private and the video is no longer available. That being said it was one of the best TSA encounters that I’ve seen in a long time.
Growing up we used to do some crazy stuff, fishing stray golf balls out of the alligator populated lakes behind our homes and wandering through drainage pipes under our neighborhood roads, but this next one just might take the cake. Boy Unhurt After Taking Ride on Airport Conveyor Belt System
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Authorities say a 9-year-old boy who found his way onto the conveyor belt baggage handling system at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was not injured.
Airport spokesperson Pat Hogan said the incident happened early Saturday afternoon as a group of about 20 people was checking their bags for a trip they were taking together.
Hogan said initially no one in the group noticed the boy was missing, So the group of 20 was very attentive I ask. Sounds almost like Home Alone 3
“There was a lot of confusion because there were so many people in the group,” he said. “They were all checking their bags and putting their own bags on the conveyors, so it took a second for them to realize he was missing — but as soon as they did people sprang into action and the police were able to find him quickly.”
Hogan said the incident will likely lead to a review of baggage system security safeguards to see if more needs to be done to prevent it from happening again. What needs to happen is for people to be more responsible. However that 9-year-old will have an epic Monday at his virtual school.
Pay attention to this next one, from the Points Guy - Threaten a Delta employee? Say goodbye to your SkyMiles account and elite status
In a statement, a Delta spokesperson said:“Respect and civility to others on our planes, at our airports, in our workplaces, and in our society have always been a requirement for our people and our customers. Nothing is more important than their safety.”
What does this mean - If you piss off a Delta employee you could have your SkyMiles accounts closed. This in turn means that you could lose all your SkyMiles, any unused and upcoming award or upgrade certificates, and all other associated membership benefits, including Medallion elite status. If that isn’t enough you could also be banned from flying with Delta in the future. Just like Andrew Dice Clay has been banned from MTV.
So next time your flight gets canceled, you get rebooked or your luggage gets lost……. Keep it in your pants.
And on the heels of that story, FAA Proposes Civil Penalties against Four Passengers for Allegedly Interfering with Flight Attendants from FAA.com
This is a laundry list…….
$32,750 fine against a JetBlue passenger traveling from the Dominican Republic to New York on February 7, 2021. The passenger:
refused to wear a face mask
drank alcohol that had not been served onboard
threw the empty bottle into the air (nearly hitting another passenger)
threw food in the air
cursed out flight attendants
grabbed a flight attendants arm (causing pain)
scratched another flight attendant
$16,500 fine against a Southwest passenger traveling from Chicago to Sacramento on January 26, 2021. The passenger:
refused to wear a face mask during boarding and when seated
eventually, he placed the mask under his nose
when a flight attendant instructed him to wear his mask over his nose and mouth, he cursed her out
on that basis, he was removed from the flight
as he walked off the aircraft, he called each of the two flight attendants “pathetic,” and hit one of the flight attendants with his bags
$9,000 fine against a Delta passenger traveling from Minneapolis to Philadelphia on December 22, 2020. The passenger:
unbuckled her seat belt then got out of her seat during takeoff
began walking up and down the aisle
repeatedly said she wanted to get off the aircraft
refused to follow “multiple” flight attendant instructions to return to her seat, forcing the plane to return to Minneapolis
$9,000 fine against an Alaska Airlines passenger traveling from Bozeman to Seattle on January 30, 2021. The passenger:
refused to wear a mask, prompting a diversion
Off-duty cop subdues woman after mid-air flight attendant attack on JFK flight From WABC
A passenger was arrested for a mid-flight brawl aboard American Airlines 1357 from Miami (Thank you Florida) to New York Sunday after she allegedly attacked a flight attendant.
Chenasia Campbell, 28, is facing charges after authorities say she assaulted the flight attendant while the plane was in the air, causing bruising and injuries, and at one point bragging that the cops would do nothing.
As it happened, an off-duty NYPD police officer was on the flight and restrained Campbell until the plane landed.
Two things here -
First - As someone that has spent countless hours, possibly years staring through the windshield of a car I equate this as watching some asshat passing you on the median while you’re stuck in traffic only to see them pulled over getting a ticket a few minutes later.
Second - I’m thinking that Chenasia just lost her Executive Platinum American Airlines. I know you can’t see it but for the show notes, I used the sarcasm font for that last sentence.
Let’s play a quick game of choosing your adventure
Adventure #1 - Cocaine-Snorting Anti-Masker Causes JetBlue Diversion from One Mile At A Time
OR
Adventure #2 - Flight Diverts When Maskless Man Does Lines Of Coke In The Lav, Gropes And Threatens Woman On Board from View From The Wing
That was a trick question because both questions take you on the same adventure, and to the same destination.
JetBlue flight 915 from New York JFK to San Francisco diverted to Minneapolis on Sunday after a passenger, who reportedly did lines of cocaine in the aircraft lavatory and made unwanted touching advances towards a woman on board, and made knifing gestures with his hands towards her. Did you notice that there was no mention of Florida in there?
To recap:
The passenger was seated in Mint (JetBlue’s business class) and was “annoying another passenger” with “unwanted touching, possibly inadvertent, maybe intentional, unknown”
The passenger then made “multiple trips to the bathroom”
The flight attendants were able to move passengers so that the woman being harassed felt more comfortable
The passenger then refused to wear his mask repeatedly and kept going to the bathroom - In episode 129 or 130 I said this would be the years of the masks vs. the non-masks and the vaxxers vs. the non-vaxxers.
The passenger then started antagonizing other passengers, including making knife stabbing motions towards other passengers
The passenger was observed exhibiting erratic behavior and “snorting a white substance”
While he was in the bathroom again, the crew found a bag of “white substance” at his seat
When the passenger returned he remained calm after being told to settle down, clearly realizing the crew had found his cocaine
All flight attendants felt uncomfortable, as did passengers, so that’s why the captain made the decision to divert
This is 2021 I really had no idea that people were still snorting coke… again somehow there was no mention of Florida anywhere in either article.
When you talk about airports the subject of clubs will eventually come up - Delta has their Sky Club, American Airlines has its Admirals Club and don’t forget the American Express Centurian Lounge, which as fancy as its name implies.
How about the MIA Fight Club. Yep, another month and another fight MIA fight. Last month it took place in front of the Urban Decay store… fitting.
This month’s battle began on a Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Miami and what sparked it? Glad you asked…. This all started due to a passenger refusing to wear shoes? No. A shirt? No…. PANTS? Nope, it was over a mask.
There is a 2:23 video posted on Reddit and this was a brawl. One participant/bystander with what had to have been 30” hair extensions held her own and as a casual observer, I’d have to say those extensions were secured by drywall screws because they didn’t budge. One Reddit user asked what hairport is this?
And we all know that you don’t talk about MIA Fight Club.
Hold tight Florida, apparently, you don’t own all the craziness.....
London Brawl - Massive Fight At Airport Caught On Video and posted on TMZ
This one went down at London's Luton Airport after a man threw a bottle at another passenger who was insulting his female traveling companion. Nothing wrong with defending one’s lady friend.
However, lots of onlookers decided to get in the game, and when the dust settled 17 people were arrested. Three people received serious injuries and were taken to the hospital. This was a brawl, some travelers blindly swung luggage while others took to standing on chairs in order to precisely hit their target. All this took place right around 8:00 AM too early for such shenanigans.
International Flight Diverted - Live And Let Fly
An American Airlines flight from Tokyo to Dallas diverted to Seattle after Waka Suzuki became enraged that her in-seat power outlet stopped working and attempted to breach the flight deck after flight attendants were unable to fix the problem.
Suzuki began screaming at flight attendants, becoming “increasingly hostile and belligerent.” Unable to fix the problem, Suzuki took matters into her own hands and rushed down the aisle (from her seat in economy class) and kept going until she reached the flight deck door in the front of the plane. She proceeded to bang on the door and get the captain’s attention.
Once Waka Flacka Crazy got the captain attention she was promptly restrained with plastic handcuffs and the captain declared a “Level Three Lockdown” which, per the FAA, means: Weapon displayed/used, credible terrorist threats, credible bomb threats, or actual use of bombs, sabotage of aircraft systems, credible threats of hijacking, and deadly hand-to-hand techniques such as choking or eye-gouging.
Overkill? Not sure, but this is going to be expensive, lawyers, probably international lawyers that charge by the minute, and this could’ve been avoided with a $15.00 power bank.
From the I thought it was a booger......but it’s snot. Department we have - JetBlue passenger used blanket as tissue, fined $10,500- Thank you BoingBoing
A maskless gentleman aboard a JetBlue flight who blew his nose into a blanket and was abusive to the flight crew now knows the price for exercising "muh freedoms!" on a plane: $10,500, That's how much the FAA is fining him for his selfish and disgusting behavior. The incident took place in December on a flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Los Angeles, California. The FAA didn't release the man's name.
First - Thank you Florida, Second, why was a maskless passenger allowed on a JetBlue flight, especially in December. Third I guess JetBlue is now spelled JETBLEW.
Apparently, the flight attendants union has been listening to the monthly crazy travel roundup.
Here’s the skinny - Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz confirmed that a passenger physically assaulted a flight attendant when Southwest Flight 700 from Sacramento to San Diego, California, landed Sunday morning.
Mainz went on to add, "The passenger repeatedly ignored standard inflight instructions and became verbally and physically abusive upon landing,''. "Law enforcement officials were requested to meet the flight upon arrival, and the passenger was taken into custody. We do not condone or tolerate verbal or physical abuse of our flight crews, who are responsible for the safety of our passengers. ''
The union said there were 477 passenger-misconduct incidents on Southwest, just Southwest, between April 8 and May 15. That’s almost 13 incidents per day. You knew it, we all knew it, this was going to happen as we begin our return to normal.
Spirit Airlines Fight Involves Teens And 7 Months’ Pregnant Woman, Everyone Gets Banned - View From the Wing
Passengers have been banned from Spirit Airlines after an onboard brawl on Saturday that involved two teenagers and a pregnant woman on one side, and two passengers who were kicking a seat back on another, in an incident that’s gone viral across social media platforms.
According to a woman who identifies as the grandmother of one of the passengers that were fighting “[t]he guy in the black t-shirt and his girlfriend were fighting” after asking that passengers not kick the back of her granddaughter’s seat. That led to cursing and escalated to “snatching” a pregnant woman’s hair.
That’s when things really got out of control between the “guy and his girl” (who were said to be kicking the back of a seat) and the “2 minors” (who complained about the kicking) as well as the “7 months’ pregnant woman” who was aunt to the two younger passengers. A flight attendant made an announcement threatening to divert the aircraft.
There are several videos of the skirmish posted, and midair fights are fairly common so here’s my takeaway. If you’re 5’8” you are at a distinct disadvantage when fighting on a plane especially if you’re in the middle or window seat. You’re going to be hunched over which is going to greatly reduce your reach and punch power. If you plan on going all spider monkey on your next flight pick an aisle seat as this will allow you to stand up as well as giving you some mobility and a greater range of motion.
Again these fights are commonplace and most of the articles carry the same theme. But what is so unique and so ever-evolving is the comments left by the readers.
Jedford says: Obnoxious passengers on Spirit Airlines don’t just act like this in the air, they also act like this in stores and on the road.
CHRIS says: I can’t wait until Trump leaves office so we can all live in peace again.
Jerry says: Spirit Airlines has to be one of the biggest recipients of people’s stimmy check spending.
Sir Topham Hatt says: Underrated moment- the chunky white boy standing up to intervene with plumbers butt till Sunday
FatLip says: Spirit is the official airline of the democrat party.
If you want detailed show notes, links and pictures head over to podpage.com/travel-stories/
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As I always say, travel safe, stay safe, and thanks for listening.
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The May Crazy Travel Roundup - Travel Stories, Episode 141