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Post by auntkelly on Aug 1, 2023 14:05:29 GMT
I've told my story before on this board, so feel free to skip my story if you've read it before.
We were flying to from Oklahoma City to Louisville many years' ago to spend Thanksgiving w/ my husband's parents. We were flying on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, which everyone knows is an extremely busy travel day.
My kids were about 7 and 5 at the time. We were flying Southwest on a 7am flight. We arrived at the airport around 6:00 am. Our flight didn't take off for another hour and the kids were hungry, so I took them to the Sonic in the food court to grab something for breakfast.
A family w/ older teenagers got in line behind us. (The two teenagers were about 15 and 17).
My kids and I waited in line for about thirty minutes. There were still a lot of people ahead of us and the line was moving slowly. I said "Kids, I'm sorry, but we need to get back to our gate. I packed some bananas and nuts and you can eat those on the plane."
We returned to our gate and boarded the plane shortly thereafter. (This was back when pretty much everyone boarded a Southwest flight at the same time). We had no problem finding four seats together.
Just as everyone was seated and we were about to take off, here comes the family w/ the older teens I had seen at Sonic. I don't know what they had ordered for breakfast, but it smelled like chili cheese dogs. The flight attendant said "Find a seat, we're preparing for takeoff."
The mother looked around and saw that there were only single seats left. She yelled "we're a family and have to be seated together. My children can't sit by themselves!" I looked at the oldest teen, expecting him to be mortified, but he wasn't the least bit embarrassed.
It was apparent we weren't going to take off until everyone played musical chairs so that the entitled family could all sit together. One man gave up a window seat to go sit in a middle seat in another row. The woman didn't even thank him as she took his seat. We ended up taking off about ten minutes late or so, which can really make a difference on a busy day.
Everyone knows there is no assigned seating on Southwest (especially in those days when boarding was a complete free for all). The family should have either gotten out of the Sonic line to board the plane, sent a family member down to save four seats or packed their own snacks to eat on the plane.
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scrappinghappy
Pearl Clutcher
“I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time to say “Hello.” Goodbye. I’m late...."
Posts: 4,306 
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Post by scrappinghappy on Aug 1, 2023 14:16:01 GMT
We were traveling from Munich to Tel Aviv with our kids. My daughter was exhausted and it was a night time flight so as soon as she could, she put her seat back to go to sleep. The lady in the seat behind her started kicking the seat. She was a tiny old lady and couldn’t speak English. Her husband was in the seat across the aisle and after some broken English discussion he agreed the seat could go down after food service. So my daughter and I swapped seats, she went to sleep, and I pretty much kept my seat up until said old lady went to sleep. I don’t sleep on planes so I was in the gallery getting tea when the old lady woke up. As far as she knew the seat never went back. We deplaned, not a word of thanks or acknowledgement from her or her hubby. No problem. Incident pretty much forgotten.
Fast forward two years and my nephew is getting married. We are at the wedding when my husband recognizes the old lady. She is my new niece’s GRANDMOTHER! Thank heavens she didn’t appear to recognize us.
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Post by auntkelly on Aug 1, 2023 14:24:59 GMT
Fast forward two years and my nephew is getting married. We are at the wedding when my husband recognizes the old lady. She is my new niece’s GRANDMOTHER! Thank heavens she didn’t appear to recognize us. Wow! It truly is a small world! |
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Post by aj2hall on Aug 1, 2023 14:37:05 GMT
I was on a southwest flight and a flight attendant was trying to make room for a bag. She moved a nice leather bag and the man started shouting about his $200 bag, did she want to buy it, he didn’t want it moved, he put it there for a reason, the other passengers should have boarded sooner etc. He was beyond rude to the poor flight attendant who was just trying to do her job and put a bag away so we could take off.
On the flip side, the kindest thing someone did was make a genuine effort to return my dh’s wallet that he left behind on a seat. It was an off duty pilot, he knew we were traveling at the start of our vacation and he wandered around the Denver airport until he found us at a food court. We tried to give him money, to buy dinner for him etc but he wouldn’t take anything.
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Post by littlemama on Aug 1, 2023 14:48:57 GMT
We didnt see what happened, but we were once on a flight where police were waiting at the gate. We never did find out why
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Post by librarylady on Aug 1, 2023 14:52:57 GMT
Luckily I have witnessed no drama on a flight. I did fly 3 times during covid.
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lavawalker1
Full Member
Posts: 452
Jul 9, 2021 21:41:57 GMT
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Post by lavawalker1 on Aug 1, 2023 14:57:53 GMT
Not on a plane, but at the gate right before boarding. I’m not sure what even started this, but a man at the gate was very very angry, yelling at the SWA employees…. generally just getting more obnoxious by the minute. Security came and gave him a warning that he wouldn’t be going on the flight if he didn’t calm down. Oh how I wished they’d just denied him the flight and escorted him away, because all I did was worry about him going ballistic on the plane all over again. Anyhow, I know things like this have gotten more common since covid, but this was several years before.
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Post by bianca42 on Aug 1, 2023 15:01:09 GMT
Not horrible, but pissed me off. On my last Southwest flight I was in one of the last boarding groups. They announced eleventy billion times that the flight was 100% full and that there will be enough room for bags as long as everyone puts one bag under the seat and one overhead. Of course, by the time I boarded, there were no spots left and they had to check my bag. The FA wrote my final destination on a napkin. (Spoiler, it didn't get to my final destination.) When the flight arrived at it's next stop, the people on both sides of me each grabbed two bags from the overhead. No problem, I don't mind filling out a lost baggage claim at 1am.
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,701
Location: Houston, TX
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Post by smartypants71 on Aug 1, 2023 15:01:24 GMT
We were on a flight home from Cozumel, and my SO had the audacity to accept a flight upgrade to first. I was stuck sitting in the middle seat in economy between a very amorous and drunk couple. They kept handing things to each other, and then started leaning over and kissing each other. The last straw was when she tried to lay her legs over me so she could rest her feet on her boyfriend's lap.
We came very close to throwing hands, but a flight attendant was able to get them to knock it off.
Meanwhile, my very relaxed now-DH had a very relaxing flight.
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Aug 1, 2023 15:06:46 GMT
I haven't flown much.
The last flight I took, on the way there.......a lady across the aisle and three seats back (aisle seat) turned on her audio book, it was loud.
So inconsiderate and rude!
I had my ear plugs in and could hear it clearly from my seat. Thankfully, after several minutes of it, the flight attendant came and asked her to put in ear phones or turn the volume to very low. The lady fussed a bit, but did pull out ear phones and use them.
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Post by peano on Aug 1, 2023 15:06:50 GMT
Fortunately, (unfortunately?) the worst behavior I've ever experienced on a plane was with a flight attendant. It was an early am flight, not full, but very warm inside the plane, and because we were sitting on the runway for a while before takeoff, diesel fuel fumes were pretty strong. Once we were aloft, I started feeling pretty queasy, so I moved to the back of the plane near the bathroom where it was cooler and less crowded. I explained this to the flight attendant, and asked if I could have a seltzer to help settle my stomach, because that works for me. She proceeded to argue with me that seltzer was not good for an upset stomach, that her doctor told her this, yadda, yadda. I finally got a cup of seltzer out of her, didn't hurl and felt better.
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Post by monklady123 on Aug 1, 2023 15:26:39 GMT
Not on the plane, but in the airport.... I still remember the woman at the airport in Tel Aviv arguing -- LOUDLY -- about having to go into a separate line for those people who had bought some type of ceramics as a souvenir. Apparently that all has to be checked because some kinds of explosives can be made to look like ceramics...? Not too sure about that since I hadn't bought any, but they had dogs to help screen everyone who had to get in that area. Anyway, many people buy the souvenir communion plates and cups so there were a lot of people in that line. This woman was MAD as heck about it.  I mean come on lady...this is ISRAEL. You have to go through several checkpoints just to be allowed to drive into the airport zone, never mind once you get in there. They have done this thousands of times and know what they're doing. And they all carry big machine guns. Just get your darn ceramic plates checked and move on. |
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Post by kimpossible on Aug 1, 2023 15:50:29 GMT
My son and I were traveling back to our home state and behind us was a mother with a baby (5-6 months old if I had to guess). The child was fussy all of the flight and about 45 minutes before we landed I hear the Mom say to the baby, "Oh, you have a poopy!".
The flight was not full and there were about 20-30 seats in the very back empty. Not only does she decide to change the diaper right then and there, but it ends up being a very "loose" diaper and appears to get on the seats. The smell is horrific to us nearby. All of the passengers around her are looking at each other with that "yucky, whats that smell" look on their faces. One brave passenger directly across the aisle from her asks her why she didn't move back a few rows where no one was sitting and she basically told him to "f" off.
A flight attendant came by and suggested she move so she could assist with cleaning up the seats and the woman told her that not only would she not move, but "isn't that what you do once the plane empties out?"
So we end up landing - she and the baby are still in the same seats, she has not got up from her seat, so I know she still has the dirty diaper and all wipes associated with it, at her seat.
It comes to our turn to depart and the same passenger that sat across from her and said something, now notices she has left the dirty diaper, and all the wipes, just sitting on the seat. He calls her out on it and tells her to get back there and pick it up. Well, she had a few choice words to say to him and told him to mind his f-ing business. At this point, quite a few passengers chime in about how rude she was, how disgusting that is, etc. She basically tells them that there is a crew that comes in and cleans up after all of them - no need for her to take care of it. Such entitlement!
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Post by scrapmaven on Aug 1, 2023 16:14:50 GMT
I have both a bad story and a fun story.
The bad: The obnoxious, already drunk people in the seats on the other side of the aisle brought 2 six-packs on the plane and proceeded to start drinking. The flight attendants fought w/them, because you can't bring alcohol on the plane and drink. The passengers were drunk, loud and obnoxious during the entire flight. When we landed the police boarded the aircraft and took the a$$holes off in handcuffs. The entire planeful of people applauded and cheered.
The fun: It was my birthday and a friend and I were going to Vegas for the weekend. Neither of us drank or partied. It was 7am and the flight attendant came up to us to take our beverage order and heard my friend mention my birthday. She then got on the loudspeaker and made the entire plane sing Happy Birthday. I was standing and conducting, of course, because I'm a ham. Then she offered us free cocktails. So, we asked if we could give them to two passengers who drank. Two very happy passengers enjoyed a free bloody Mary while we sipped coffee. Bonus-I won a jackpot on that trip to Vegas.
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sharlag
Drama Llama
I like my artsy with a little bit of fartsy.
Posts: 6,574
Location: Kansas
Jun 26, 2014 12:57:48 GMT
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Post by sharlag on Aug 1, 2023 16:40:38 GMT
I remember seeing a dude take a book into the airplane restroom. 😆
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Post by Merge on Aug 1, 2023 16:43:07 GMT
We were on a flight home from Cozumel, and my SO had the audacity to accept a flight upgrade to first. I was stuck sitting in the middle seat in economy between a very amorous and drunk couple. They kept handing things to each other, and then started leaning over and kissing each other. The last straw was when she tried to lay her legs over me so she could rest her feet on her boyfriend's lap. We came very close to throwing hands, but a flight attendant was able to get them to knock it off. Meanwhile, my very relaxed now-DH had a very relaxing flight. Ok so this is a total tangent, but I get seriously annoyed when DH accepts an upgrade if there isn’t also one for me. I realize this isn’t particularly rational, but it is what it is. I found it especially annoying when we always flew with our kids and he would leave me and the kids in coach while he enjoyed business class, but now that it’s usually just the two of us, I still find it annoying - especially on a longer flight. I do not, however, make a scene about it that would inconvenience other passengers. I just sit there and quietly fume, and use his credit card to pay for airline wine. 😆 |
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Post by Merge on Aug 1, 2023 16:46:48 GMT
I don’t know about worst, but the most recent bad behavior I’ve experienced was the guy next to me who was manspreading for the entire flight. As a woman, I feel obliged to make myself as small as possible so as to not bother other passengers, but this guy had his knee over in my space and flopped his elbow over the arm rest so it was in my way. Super annoying. I may gave “accidentally” kicked him once or twice but it made no difference.
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Aug 1, 2023 17:01:10 GMT
but this guy had his knee over in my space and flopped his elbow over the arm rest so it was in my way. Super annoying. I may gave “accidentally” kicked him once or twice but it made no difference. This is when it's good to be working on a needlepoint or sewing project. Those needles sometimes have a mind of their own!  With all the flying we've done, I can't say that I've ever had a truly horrible experience. After hearing so many stories from others, I thank my lucky stars! |
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Post by katlady on Aug 1, 2023 17:05:02 GMT
Fortunately, I haven't seen any crazy things on an airplane.
The craziest thing that happened to me was when I had to change seats on a small puddle-jumper plane because a couple could not sit a row apart for a 30 minute flight! I had a window seat, all cozy, and ready for my short flight. Last two people get on the place. The flight attendant asked if I would move to the row in front. It was an aisle seat, but I didn't want to cause any waves so I moved. The problem ... the lady in the window seat had her stuff stowed under both seats. I had no where to put my purse/backpack. The flight attendant made me stick it in the overhead bin several rows back! The bag had all my valuables in it! And then the window lady talked to me the entire flight! UGH!! All because some grown ass adults could not sit apart for 30 minutes!
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Post by Merge on Aug 1, 2023 17:28:08 GMT
but this guy had his knee over in my space and flopped his elbow over the arm rest so it was in my way. Super annoying. I may gave “accidentally” kicked him once or twice but it made no difference. This is when it's good to be working on a needlepoint or sewing project. Those needles sometimes have a mind of their own! With all the flying we've done, I can't say that I've ever had a truly horrible experience. After hearing so many stories from others, I thank my lucky stars! My crochet hook doesn't carry the same punch as a needle, lol. Also Sydney airport security took away my tiny yarn scissors (allowed in the US) so now I can't do much. I brought an amigurumi project that requires the making of a lot of little parts and then cutting the yarn before starting the next one. |
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Aug 1, 2023 17:36:03 GMT
My crochet hook doesn't carry the same punch as a needle, lol. Also Sydney airport security took away my tiny yarn scissors (allowed in the US) so now I can't do much. I brought an amigurumi project that requires the making of a lot of little parts and then cutting the yarn before starting the next one. Bummer that you lost your yarn scissors. I lost a great pair of Gingher embroidery scissors in Paris once because I forgot to take them out.  . For future trips, get one of these. I've been traveling with one for well over 10 years and have never had an issue with TSA or security in other countries. The other option I use is a pair of finger nail clippers. Get a pair with no attached file/blade. |
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iluvpink
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,281
Location: Michigan
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Post by iluvpink on Aug 1, 2023 17:42:59 GMT
This winter? We were on a plane home from Las Vegas. At the gate my dh scanned and went through and a group pushed between the two of us and went ahead of me. Then one of the guys in the group was told he couldn't go through with his open can of beer so bitched and bitched and finally chugged it down while we stood there and threw the can in the trash. We all moved towards the plane. As we were waiting in the tunnel he started bitching to the flight attendant at the plane door about his seat assignment. I don't remember the details but he was supposed to be in first class (um, it's Spirit, there is no first class, just big front seats ) and why did they change it on him, he kept getting louder and louder. I didn't hear what they said but they walked away and then he yelled he was going to sue the company etc etc. After we were all seated, he refused to buckle up and kept shouting about how they were treating him unfairly and this was bullshit etc. The flight attendants were not having it. They said do you want to get home or not? We can take you off the plane and you can stay here or buckle up and everyone can go home. Everyone around him started telling him to buckle up. Finally he did.
He definitely gave off the I'm a big guy and I like to push people around bully vibe.
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Post by katlady on Aug 1, 2023 17:45:22 GMT
This is when it's good to be working on a needlepoint or sewing project. Those needles sometimes have a mind of their own! With all the flying we've done, I can't say that I've ever had a truly horrible experience. After hearing so many stories from others, I thank my lucky stars! My crochet hook doesn't carry the same punch as a needle, lol. Also Sydney airport security took away my tiny yarn scissors (allowed in the US) so now I can't do much. I brought an amigurumi project that requires the making of a lot of little parts and then cutting the yarn before starting the next one. I almost lost my scissors in Japan. It was fine for the trip from the US. But in Japan, the allowable size is slightly smaller. The scissors just barely made it. It was a Japanese scissors, so that is probably why it just barely made the size requirement. But I got nervous when they brought out their ruler to measure it. |
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
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Post by katybee on Aug 1, 2023 17:54:29 GMT
Not bad, but funny: I used to live in Nashville and would often take flights to Dallas, and would often be on planes with country musicians.
One time, I sat directly behind Tracy Byrd. His song Keeper of the Stars was on the charts. After the plane landed and we were taxiing/waiting to deplane, he got out his cellphone (or maybe used the airplane phone? This was the mid-90’s) and was talking, very loudly, to someone about his song, and about the fact that he was going to have dinner with George Strait. He was MUCH louder than he needed to be and was obviously doing it do people would notice. Nobody really did. (Mind you this was Southwest).
Another time I say kitty-corner from Vince Gill (we were both on the aisle, opposite sides, 2 rows apart). This was at the height of his popularity. It was also coach (there was a first class section). There was a baby sitting in his mother’s lap directly opposite of him, and he played with that baby for nearly the entire flight—making it giggle and laugh like crazy. It was so freaking cute.
Oh, and one other time I sat next to a man in handcuffs (the man next to him must have been his escort). Nothing happened, but it was weird.
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Post by workingclassdog on Aug 1, 2023 18:23:20 GMT
In all the years of flying (and I worked for the airlines) I have never come across anyone acting bad. KNOCK on wood. Never anything. No weird feet poking through the seats. No one acting out. The worst might have been a baby crying or just packed in like sardines.
I have shared this one though before... I flew from Europe to JFK on a 747 with one other person. Whole plane empty. It was awesome. We played cards and drank the whole time. I was pretty toasted by the time we landed.
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bethany102399
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,521
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Post by bethany102399 on Aug 1, 2023 18:27:49 GMT
I found it especially annoying when we always flew with our kids and he would leave me and the kids in coach while he enjoyed business class, Oh HELL no. and my DH loves to upgrade. If we're by ourselves then it wouldn't bother me, I spent one memorable flight in 1st class with 2 drunk guys who were not pleasant. I fail to understand the love of the upgrade. Try it when we have both kids and there will be words on the plane. We tend to fly 2 and 2 (one of us paired with a kid). The last time I flew by myself we had a connection where I didn't have to get off the plane but we added people. I took the opportunity to move to an isle seat. 2 women were boarding last and one asked me to move so she could sit with her friend. I said no, and did feel guilty about it. She glared at me for the remainder of the flight. Tough, it's southwest, board earlier. DH was flying somewhere, this was well pre-kids, and the kid in the seat behind him was kicking his seat. He looks over and politely asks the kid to stop. 5 minutes go by the kicking starts again. He again asks the kid to stop. lather, rinse, repeat. Finally the third time he looked at the mom and said the overhead compartments will hold up to 130lbs. Get your kid to stop kicking me. That time it worked. |
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maryannscraps
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,731
Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
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Post by maryannscraps on Aug 1, 2023 19:36:14 GMT
A few years ago I was flying a red eye out of LAX with a colleague. The guy she was sitting next to must have been drunk or high. After the plane took off, he started pulling the hair of the person in the seat in front of him, calling the Asian person next to him a bunch of slurs. He was slapping anyone who walked by. The attendants moved everyone who was around him to other seats. None of us wanted the plane to turn around like they would now. He fell asleep, and was greeted by state police with handcuffs when we landed in Boston.
Recently, my daughter was leaving on a flight where a woman refused to put her the small dog in its carrier before takeoff. They taxied back to the gate and removed her and the dog. My daughter ended up missing her connection because of it.
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samantha25
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,897
Member is Online
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Post by samantha25 on Aug 1, 2023 19:41:23 GMT
I think I mentioned this event on another thread. I was returning home from my mother's celebration of life and I was the last one to board and waiting to get to the back of the plane for seats. I noticed that there was a space in the over head that had a small notebook computer, laying flat, taking up a decent amount of space, so I thought I could put my bag in and then put the notebook on top. The owner, was not pleased as she started yelling at me and telling me that she wanted that space because she had to get off the plane immediately when the plane lands and why did I have such a big bag and I didn't say a word at first. She just kept going and going. I looked at her and said, could you give me a break, I have my dead mother's ashes in my bag. (My friends made a beautiful resin piece that looks like waves and incorporates my father and mother's ashes.) A gentleman in the aisle helped me put my bag up and let me in the center seat. I just started crying. He talked to me the whole flight and by chance, he was from near my childhood home town, where my mom's celebration was and he had just returned from his high school reunion. Small world. Never understood the woman's haste to get off the plane as her seat was in the middle of the aircraft and would have to wait for others to deplane.
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Post by scrapperal on Aug 1, 2023 19:41:44 GMT
Bummer that you lost your yarn scissors. I lost a great pair of Gingher embroidery scissors in Paris once because I forgot to take them out. . For future trips, get one of these. I've been traveling with one for well over 10 years and have never had an issue with TSA or security in other countries. The other option I use is a pair of finger nail clippers. Get a pair with no attached file/blade. Does the Clover tool cut yarn? embroidery floss? pearl cotton? I've been reluctant to buy one because it says "thread cutter" and I'm cutting thicker items. |
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Post by clarencelynn on Aug 1, 2023 19:45:26 GMT
I had a job where my team and I would travel very often. One week, I had a new team member traveling with us. Unbeknownst to me and the other team members, the new team member was frightened of flying and had decided to have a few drinks at the bar before takeoff. About halfway through the flight I see the new team member being escorted to the front of the plane and one of my other teammates walking back and sitting where New Guy had been seated (full flight). When we landed, the police were there to arrest New Guy. Seems he continued to drink on the flight, then decided to SA the man sitting next to him. It was horrifying.
I was only 24 at the time and not anyone's manager, so after watching New Guy get carted off, I called our Manager back at home (late Sunday night) and asked if I was supposed to do anything. She said she'd figure it out. Never did see New Guy again.
What a nightmare for the passenger.
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