Peeing, pooping, smoking on planes: Meet the worst flyers of 2023 so far

It seems the nightmare of dealing with unruly passengers is not over for airlines yet. From peeing on co-passengers to abusing crew, commercial aircraft carriers in India have witnessed some of the worst flyers this year.

A new incident has come to light after the police said on Monday (26 June) that a male passenger travelling on a Mumbai-Delhi Air India flight allegedly defecated and urinated on the floor mid-air.

According to the FIR, Ram Singh, onboard flight AIC 866 on 24 June, pooped, peed and spat in row 9 of the aircraft, reported PTI. After the flight landed, he was escorted to the local police station and a case was filed against him under sections 294 (obscene acts) and 510 (misconduct in public by a drunken person) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Let’s take a look at how non-compliant and unruly flyers have been a headache for airlines recently.

Peeing incidents

Two peeing incidents on flights caused widespread outrage in India earlier this year. While these instances took place late last year, they hit headlines in early 2023.

On 26 November 2022, a “drunk” man identified as Shankar Mishra – a Mumbai businessman – urinated on a female senior citizen onboard an Air India flight from New York to Delhi. Although the incident took place in November, Air India filed a police complaint only on 4 January against the offender, NDTV reported citing the FIR.

Another similar incident that occurred in 2022 caused an uproar as it came to light this year. A male flyer, who was in an inebriated state, allegedly “urinated” on a blanket of a woman on a Paris-New Delhi Air India flight on 6 December.

In March this year, a student onboard the New York-New Delhi American Airlines flight also allegedly urinated on a fellow passenger. “The accused is a student in a US university. He was in a state of inebriation and urinated while he was asleep. It somehow leaked and fell on a fellow passenger who complained to the crew,” an airline source was quoted as saying by PTI at the time.

ALSO READ: What’s the punishment for urinating on co-passengers, fighting on flights?

Abusing flight attendants

Klas Erik Harald Jonas Westberg, a 63-year-old Swedish national, onboard the IndiGo 6E-1052 Bangkok-Mumbai flight was arrested by the Mumbai police on 1 April for allegedly molesting a crew member.

According to PTI, he was accused of “touching a crew member inappropriately” while buying food on the flight and assaulting a co-passenger.

Westberg was the eighth flyer to be arrested in India if the first three months of 2023 for unruly behaviour.

Air India deplaned a 25-year-old male passenger in April for causing “physical harm” to two cabin crew members onboard a Delhi-London flight.

Two “drunk” passengers, hailing from Maharashtra, onboard a Dubai-Mumbai IndiGo flight were arrested in March for allegedly hurling abuses at crew and co-flyers.

As per reports, they started “celebrating” one year of working in Dubai by opening alcohol on the flight. “When co-flyers objected to the ruckus, the two abused them as well as the crew that intervened. One of them was drinking while walking down the aisle. The crew took away their bottles,” a police official was quoted as saying by India TV.

In January, an Italian woman travelling from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai on a Vistara flight was booked for allegedly creating a ruckus midair.

As per media reports, the woman insisted on sitting in business class despite having an economy ticket, punched a cabin crew member, and spat on another.

Paola Perruccio, who was in an inebriated state, also “removed” some of her clothes, “moved around in the vacant space on board and hurled abuses”, reported Times of India (TOI).

Smoking, opening emergency exits

Three separate incidents of passengers smoking inside flights were reported in March.

A man was booked for allegedly smoking inside the lavatory of an Air India Kolkata-Delhi flight on 4 March. “He was smoking inside lavatory when the alarm started ringing which alerted the flight crew,” an official source told IANS. “The Delhi ATC was informed about the incident and the passenger was handed over to Delhi Police as soon as the flight landed at IGI Airport.”

A 24-year-old woman on an Indigo flight from Kolkata was arrested after the plane landed in Bengaluru for allegedly smoking in the toilet. The incident was reported by the Indian media on 9 March.

An Indian-American man flying on a Mumbai-bound Air India plane from London was booked for allegedly smoking in the toilet, abusing and trying to assault the co-passengers. “A passenger on our flight AI130, operating London-Mumbai on 10 March 2023, was found smoking in the lavatory. Subsequently, he behaved in an unruly and aggressive manner, despite repeated warnings. He was handed over to the security personnel upon the flight’s arrival in Mumbai. The regulator has been duly informed of the incident,” a spokesperson for Air India was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

In May, a 28-year-old man onboard the Goa-Chandigarh IndiGo flight tried to open the emergency door of the aircraft. He was detained at Dabolim Airport for allegedly tampering with the wing cover flap and pulling the door’s control handle, Indian Express reported citing police sources.

A similar incident was reported in April when a male flyer on a Delhi-Bengaluru Indigo flight tried to open the emergency door of the plane.

Rise in unruly passengers

Unruly flyer incidents increased last year as compared to 2021.

According to an analysis by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released in June 2023, these incidents on commercial passenger flights surged globally by 37 per cent in 2022 as compared to the year before.

In 2021, airlines reported one unruly passenger incident per 835 flights, while, in 2022, this number rose to one incident per 568 flights.

“The most common categorisations of incidents in 2022 were non-compliance, verbal abuse and intoxication. Physical abuse incidents remain very rare, but these had an alarming increase of 61 per cent over 2021, occurring once every 17,200 flights,” PTI cited the IATA release as saying.

“Smoking of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vapes and puff devices in the cabin or lavatories; failure to fasten seatbelts when instructed; exceeding the carry-on baggage allowance or failing to store baggage when required; and consumption of own alcohol on board” were among the most common examples of non-compliance, according to the association.

IATA deputy director general Conrad Clifford expressed worry about the increasing trend of unruly passenger behaviour. “In the face of rising unruly incident numbers, governments and the industry are taking more serious measures to prevent unruly passenger incidents. States are ratifying MP14 and reviewing enforcement measures, sending a clear message of deterrence by showing that they are ready to prosecute unruly behaviour,” he said, as per PTI. 

In April, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) released an advisory for airlines underlining the existing norms to deal with unruly passengers. India’s DGCA also called for sensitising pilots, cabin crew and post holders on handling unruly passengers through appropriate means.

With inputs from agencies

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