Disruptive passengers, air rage, drunk walkers: Common flight behaviors after lockdown

It's no secret that we're coming out of a two-year era of extremely bizarre in-flight behavior, with statistics from both the US and the UK revealing that disruptive passenger occurrences increased when individuals resumed flying after the lockdowns. Though the numbers have slowed significantly after 2021, the mind-boggling instances persist virtually frequently.

Of fact, "disruptive passengers" encompasses a wide range of transgressions. On a three-and-a-half-hour domestic US trip, the inebriated guy attempted to discharge an imaginary pistol at other passengers, tried to unlock both the plane cabin and cockpit doors, and threw a flight attendant against the wall.

The man jumped upon an airline drinks cart in the middle of the flight before stripping naked in the aisle, causing the jet to reroute. On a flight from Manchester to Cyprus, a woman undressed down to her innerwear and attempted to access the cockpit twice.


On Tuesday, a Southwest Airlines pilot, informed passengers that if someone on board would not cease sharing unwanted images with them through AirDrop technology, he would be forced to turn the plane around.

In a popular video, the captain told the passengers he would "have to drive back into the gate" if the mystery sender did not stop transmitting the unwanted images. "Whatever that AirDrop thing is, stop sending unwanted images and let's get yourselves to Cabo," he instructed those on board.



For those who are unfamiliar, Apple's AirDrop capability allows anybody with one of the company's smartphones or tablets to transmit an image or other file to someone within a close range of approximately 30 feet, or nine meters without needing their phone number.

Because of Bluetooth technology, unwanted photographs transmitted by others might appear on your phone in close quarters, such as in an airline cabin. AirDrop allows users the choice to view or ignore the image, but many who are unfamiliar with it unintentionally click on whatever they've been sent, sometimes with disastrous repercussions.

The use of technology to communicate obscene photographs has been nicknamed 'cyberflashing'.