I’m a pilot and this is how you can get banned — for life
Adam Sabes, Fox News
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An airplane pilot says that airlines should be more strict in disciplining passengers who display disruptive behavior in the sky.
Morgan Gist MacDonald, a private pilot and co-founder of Firefly Aviation told Fox News Digital she feels that flight attendants and crew are “more tolerant” than people think when it comes to disruptive passengers.
“We’ve certainly left Cancun, for instance, and people have been drunk on the plane. But somehow, the flight attendants ignore them,” MacDonald said. “I’ve seen some bad behavior. People speaking disrespectfully to flight attendants and they, for the most part, ignore it. So I think they could actually be more strict in some sense.”
She said that flight attendants need to remind passengers they are there for “safety” and not to be a “server.”
A recent report from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) states that unruly passenger incidents on airplanes are rising, increasing by 47% globally in 2022 over 2021.
In the US alone, 250 unruly passenger cases have been referred to the FBI for possible prosecution.
Here are four instances where passengers have been banned from flying:
1. Physically assaulting flight attendants
In severe cases, not following instructions from flight attendants can get a passenger banned from flying on that airline.
Vyvianna Quinonez, 28, pleaded guilty to federal charges after repeatedly striking a Southwest Airlines flight attendant after being told she needed to wear her face mask on May 23, 2021.
The Southwest Airlines flight left from California’s Sacramento International Airport, and was headed to San Diego International Airport.
During the flight’s final descent, court documents state the woman wasn’t “wearing her seat belt, pulled her tray table down, and was not wearing her face mask properly.”
She allegedly talked back to the flight attendant while shouting profanities before standing up and assaulting the flight attendant.
The incident was caught on camera by other passengers, with one person jumping between Quinonez and the employee in order to stop the fight.
The flight attendant sustained chipped teeth, a bruised and swollen eye, a cut under her eye, and a bruise on her right forearm.
Quinonez was ordered to spend up to 15 months in federal prison, pay a $7,500 fine, and is banned from flying any commercial airline.
2. Not following instructions from flight attendants
On Dec. 15, 2021, a United Airlines passenger was kicked off a plane and subsequently banned from flying with the airline because he wore women’s underwear as a COVID-19 face mask, pending a review by the airline’s Passenger Incident Review Committee (PIRC).
Adam Jenne told FOX Business he wanted to make a point of the silliness of people being forced to wear masks on planes during the coronavirus pandemic.
He said that after the incident, he got an email from United saying he was banned from all flights until his case was reviewed by PIRC.
Jenne said Delta Air Lines kicked him off a previous flight for wearing women’s underwear as a COVID-19 face mask.
“The flight attendants are tired. They’re tired of the bizarre confrontation that they have with people who are threatening and demeaning. They’re worn out over this stuff,” Jenne said. “But everybody that I encounter – almost 100% – finds the entire thing hysterical.”
At the time, United Airlines said in a statement that travelers who refuse to follow mask rules may lose travel privileges.
3. Attempting to open the emergency exit door
This year, a United Airlines passenger on a flight from San Francisco International Airport to Houston International Airport allegedly assaulted a flight attendant and tried to jump out of the emergency exit prior to takeoff.
Cody Benjamin Lovins, 47, became upset with a flight attendant on the plane and began allegedly punching her several times on the May 1 flight.
Passenger Naya Jimenez was on vacation with her family heading home and noticed Lovins’ wife was in Jimenez’s assigned seat.
Jimnez said she showed the woman her boarding pass, asking if she could move, but Lovins’ wife refused.
“I’m not really a confrontational person, so I sat at a seat that I found nearby and just kind of waited things out because I didn’t want to block anybody else from sitting in their seat,” Jimenez told KTRK.
See Also
Passenger caught on video punching United crew member charged, banned from airline
When a flight attendant came over and attempted to tell Lovins’ wife to sit in her assigned seat, her husband’s anger continued to grow.
“Although you can tell at that point his speech was a little bit slurred, he explained that they had a flight delayed and eventually missed their flight and between the waiting time from their previous flight to the flight that we were on, he upgraded both of their seats,” Jimenez said.
Lovins then began allegedly punching the flight attendant and then attempted to open the emergency exit door.
“After he paused for a minute, he ran toward where the pilot was, where the emergency exit doors are, and attempted to open it,” Jimenez told KTKR. “He successfully opened the emergency exit and was about to jump down.”
“The flight attendants just kicked in, and everybody pulled him back to safety,” she continued.
Lovins was arrested by the San Francisco Police Department and charged with battery.
A statement from United Airlines at the time said the behavior was “unacceptable,” adding that the passenger was banned from flying United Airlines.
4. ‘Skiplagging’
Airlines may take serious action up to banning passengers from flying with their company for using a cost-saving hack known as “skiplagging,” where a customer buys a ticket and doesn’t complete the entire route.
That’s what happened to a North Carolina teenager who was stopped at a Florida airport by American Airlines before even boarding the plane.
Hunter Parsons, the father of the 17-year-old, told Insider that his son was detained and “interrogated” at a Florida airport for allegedly using the travel hack in early July.
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Parsons said that his teenage son’s “ticket was canceled, and he was banned from AA for three years but never actually did anything wrong. He never even got his boarding pass.”
His son bought a ticket from Gainesville, Florida, to New York City, but was stopped by a gate agent at the Florida airport before boarding because he had a North Carolina license, and the flight included a layover in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The revoked ticket cost $150, forcing the family to buy a $400 direct flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, according to Parsons.
The younger Parsons was banned from flying American Airlines for three years as a result of the incident.
Professional fighter permanently banned from Southwest Airlines
Outlets are reporting he is no longer welcome on the airline
A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert and a mixed martial arts fighter has received a lifetime ban from Southwest Airlines after an incident with a flight attendant was caught on video.
The videos were posted across multiple social media platforms. In them, Aaron “Tex” Johnson is arguing with other passengers, as he tries to crawl over his seat, calling at least one of them “a loser.”
The flight attendants rush to intervene, pulling the fighter upright as he yells, “assault!”https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYmtcmRwTq/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=12
It is clear that the plane is still at the airport because in a second video the fighter is being kicked off the plane. He starts walking towards the door as the other passengers shout, “Bye!”
Johnson faces the group and begins to scream. The flight attendant reacts by attempting to push Johnson. Several male passengers stand nearby, clearly signalling to Johnson that they are ready to help the flight crew if needed.https://www.instagram.com/p/DMYgHpFJ5E6/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=12
In a different video posted to X, Johnson is at the airport with a police escort. The fighter is being wheeled in a stretcher as he screams, “I’m being treated like a Black person right now.”https://www.instagram.com/p/DMbpVNANtbd/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=12
According to the New York Post, Johnson has since followed up with a post on Instagram Stories:
“For anyone trying to drag me down, it doesn’t matter to me, I have the best friends.”
Multiple outlets are reporting that Johnson’s behavior earned him a permanent ban from Southwest Airlines.
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Up next
Gen Z says “Karen” is out — and a new name for rude, entitled women is going viral
The “Karen” era is ending, but a quieter, more digital form of entitlement is taking over customer service nightmares.
For a long time, everyone seemed to agree on one name for a certain type of entitled behaviour: “Karen.” If a woman argued with a manager, tried to enforce rules in a public space, or lost her cool in a café, she was often labeled as a “Karen.” The name became the default way to describe aggressive behaviour in public. However, as trends change, so does language. According to Gen Z, the “Karen” era is over. A new term is emerging to describe similar behaviour, and it offers a radically different approach to identifying rude women today.
The new name
While the stereotype of the “Karen” is fading, the behaviour it represents is still very much alive, just under a new name: “Jessica.” Though the name has changed, the way she expresses her entitlement has evolved.
The “Karen” was known for making a scene. She was the woman yelling at a barista or standing in a parking lot to block a car from moving. She used her voice as a weapon, and she fought her battles in public, physical spaces. The “Jessica” persona is much quieter and operates mainly online. Instead of causing a ruckus in a store, she prefers to address her grievances from behind a computer screen, where she has more control.
Instead of asking to speak to a manager in person, Jessica takes to social media to publicly express her thoughts. She crafts carefully worded emails that land in someone’s inbox early on a Monday morning. Instead of threats to call the police, she creates detailed documents outlining every little mistake someone made. It’s a more organized form of entitlement, with a desire to damage a reputation through her online efforts.
Public reactions
As soon as the news about the name change spread, people had a lot to say. For women who actually have the name, it made them feel bad. “I’m Jessica, and I’m super nice,” one person pleaded in the comments. It is an unfortunate side effect of these trends. Thousands of nice women named Karen had to put up with years of jokes, and now the Jessicas of the world are on defense. They have to hope their personal reputations are strong enough to survive the new slang.
However, some people refuse to accept this change, insisting that the name “Karen” is too well-known to be replaced. One user commented, “It’s been Karen and always will be Karen. 2003 baby btw”. One person shared a personal experience with dealing with Jessica with rude and entitled behaviour, “Omg yes!! I recently dealt with the worst Jessica over email”, expressing frustrations many people face in customer service or office jobs.
In addition, there’s a growing sense of weariness about these ongoing changes in language. One critic said, “I think Gen Z needs to stop coming up with things, they aren’t that good at it.” While many Gen Z individuals are embracing these trends, Millennials are feeling worn out by them. They emphasize bringing about meaningful change in how we communicate and treat each other, rather than labeling women by specific names.
Why it matters
This new labeling raises questions about how society labels and reacts to women’s behavior. We rarely see male equivalents receive the same level of attention or be called out for their behaviors. While we’ve seen terms like “Kevin” or “Kyle” from time to time, they haven’t gained popularity like “Karen” has. This disparity shows that society tends to label and stereotype women when they express discontent, regardless of how valid their concerns might be, as one person put it on Reddit, “Terms like ‘Karen’ can definitely feel like a weapon to silence women, turning legitimate concerns into a label for any woman expressing discomfort or frustration.”
The introduction of the name “Jessica” also signals a generational shift in target audiences. The “Karen” meme aimed initially to call out obvious privilege. “Jessica,” conversely, was one of the most popular names for girls born in the 1980s and 90s. By choosing this new name, Gen Z is directing its criticism toward entitled Millennials. The name change is a way of redirecting frustration upward, toward people they see as controlling or out of touch.
However, it’s important to recognize that these labels can harm women who share these names, dragging them into jokes and stereotypes they didn’t ask for.
While the names may change over time, the way society judges women for showing frustration remains the same. As long as women voice their concerns, whether loudly or quietly, society seems to find a name for it. For now, that name is Jessica, at least until the internet finds a new way to tell women that they are complaining the wrong way.
