The Circus of Mayhem in 2022: Highlights from a Year of Traveller Misbehavior and Persistent Neglect
In 2022, the world started traveling again — and with that came the return of all the usual misbehavior and antics abroad. But with nerves perhaps frayed by a record year for airline cancellations, delays, lost luggage and inflated prices, misconduct was a particularly strong theme. Here are the standout moments from a year of travelers behaving badly.
An American family caused a commotion at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport in April after attempting to carry an unexploded shell through security. People running for cover and an airport staff announcement about an emergency were shown on social media.
The gun was found after a passenger cleared security with a bag that may have contained a gun.
Live animals were also part of the circus of mayhem in 2022: Porcupines, armadillos, turtles, lizards and snakes were among the 109 live creatures discovered by X-ray in two pieces of luggage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Two women were arrested and charged with smuggling in that incident, but on other occasions the intentions weren’t criminal. A live dog was accidentally sent through the X-ray machine at an airport in Wisconsin in December, just weeks after a cat was found trapped inside a suitcase at New York’s JFK Airport. The suitcase’s owner wasn’t looking and it appeared to have crept inside.
And at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Ohio in September, a human was the unexpected item hiding among the luggage. A man was arrested after climbing through the airport baggage carousel into a restricted area.
In January of this year, a man tried to jump from a plane in the air while it still was at the gate — all because the cockpit had been damaged.
NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. was another passenger who was kicked off a flight before takeoff: He was removed from a Los Angeles-bound American Airlines flight at Miami International Airport in November after refusing to comply with safety protocol , according to a police statement.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was the most high-profile traveler to be involved in a physical altercation with another this year, but fisticuffs and mid-air high jinks continued to be on trend.
Unruly passengers continue to be an issue on flights around the country, adding to a host of travel disruptions in recent days ranging from bird strikes, aircraft striking each other on the ground, and episodes of severe turbulence.
The year started with a group of Canadians being stranded in Mexico after their flight was scrubbed due to partying and other airlines wouldn’t fly them home.
In February, an American Airlines flight attendant used a coffee pot to hit a passenger on the head after he tried to open the plane’s exit door, according to the airline. And there were multiple cases of flights being diverted or turned around because of disruptive behavior — such as trying to bite a fellow passenger or assaulting cabin crew
An AirAsia flight in Malaysia was rerouted after a snake was found slithering through the light fixtures. And strange moans and groans were heard blasting out over the PA on an American Airlines flight to the bewilderment of passengers.
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In May a man was taken into custody after he walked out onto the wing of a plane at a Chicago airport.
The misadventure continued after the planes left the runway. A passenger arriving in Australia from Bali, Indonesia, was fined $1,874 after two undeclared McMuffins and a ham croissant were found in their luggage.
Fines were handed out on other modes of transport too. A man in China was ordered to pay $478 for reclining his train seat, as it smashed a laptop screen behind him.
Rome’s Spanish Steps were damaged by scooters before a car and then topless sunbathing on a war memorial, but it was Venice canals where skinny dipping took place.
In a CNN Travel interview in October, the European Tourism Association’s CEO said Italy is different from most countries because people occupy these spaces in a way that doesn’t occur in many countries.
He pointed out that Venice and Rome are living cities in which people are forever rubbing alongside priceless cultural treasures. Said Jenkins, “There’s nowhere in France [the most visited country in the world] that’s as sensitive. It’s surprising that a small fraction of people behaving irresponsibly is because they’re getting 65 million international visitors a year.
Visitors also poured back into Amsterdam, with the city officials targeting less desirable sex and drug tourists with an initiative focused on “actively discouraging international visitors with plans to ‘go wild’” in the Dutch capital. It’s been called the “stay away” campaign.
Not everyone was keen on this new tourism offering, with Anutin Charnvirakul, the country’s health minister, saying in August that weed-smoking visitors weren’t welcome
Of course, trouble-making tourists were as ever but a tiny portion of the number of people on the move this year and there were many heartwarming stories from 2022 as well.
There was a reunion as the year came to a close between the two refugee sisters, who had not been together in 23 years, because of a gift from a mystery woman.
Associated stabbing and interferometry: Torres, 27, is charged with two counts of interference and attempting interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon
Soon after, Torres allegedly got out of his seat, mouthing something, before thrusting “towards one of the flight attendants in a stabbing motion with a broken metal spoon, hitting the flight attendant on the neck area three times,” the department said.
Francisco will be tried on two counts of interference and attempting interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon. Torres was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport Monday and will remain detained pending a hearing set for Thursday.
During a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Boston, the flight crew saw an alarm that a door in the plane had been disarmed and, after inspection, a flight attendant saw the door’s locking handle had been pushed out of the fully locked position and an emergency slide arming lever had been disarmed, according to the Justice Department.
The department asked if there were cameras that show him tampering with the door, as the flight attendant who saw him near the door went to talk to him.
The customer will be banned from flying with United pending the investigation for any type of violence on the flight. The statement says they are cooperating with law enforcement.