Unfriendly Skies: The Scourge of Out-of-Control Brawls on Planes and How Crews Deal With Unruly Fliers
It seems like disturbing scenes of out-of-control violence aboard airplanes are becoming much more common, and the internet is full of clips of unruly travelers causing chaos, and at times some look totally hammered.
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In one recent instance, one guy refused to take his seat after he had allegedly consumed three Jack Daniels beverages.
In another, a passenger was so drunk that he had to be dragged off a plane.
Other passengers act out in unruly ways.
Passengers pulled out their cell phones to record a woman who was absolutely losing it on the plane screaming, “I want water!”
And a different woman's meltdown on a plane ended when she started fighting with cops in her seat.
Kara Mulder, a flight attendant of eight years, runs the website TheFlightAttendantLife.com, said a plane's in-flight crew is trained to de-escalate situations involving unruley and drunken passengers.
If a passenger is belligerent, "I come assess the situation, see how you are doing,” Mulder told Inside Edition.
She also demonstrated for Inside Edition Correspondent Jim Moret how she’s trained to deftly confiscate the booze without causing a fuss and offers water as an alternative.
Read: How Airline Programs Designed to Protect Unaccompanied Children Can Sometimes Go Awry
As a last resort, flight attendants can use handcuffs or zip-ties to restrain an unruly passenger.
If someone seated near you is out of control, Mulder advises leaving your seat (if the seatbelt sign is off) and advising the flight crew out while away from the unruly passenger.
Flight attendants and pilots Inside Edition spoke with say certain air routes are notorious for having particularly rowdy passengers who drink to excess; such as nonstops to Cancun, Mexico, transcontinental flights to Hawaii and most of all, flights to Las Vegas.
"Every flight I’ve worked to Vegas, are pretty much out of alcohol by the end of it," Mulder said.
Mulder’s advice: have a drink or two if you want, but don’t overdo it 30,000 feet in the air.
“People don't realize how alcohol will affect them in the sky. It reacts with your body differently,” she said.
Watch: Former New York Senator Al D'Amato Booted Off Flight After Ranting About Flight Delay
