A stay-at-home mom, a corporate executive, a bride-to-be, and a a social media influencer all share an unwanted distinction — they're permanently banned from flying their preferred airlines.
Their stories, reported by The Points Guy, reveal how quickly everyday airport tensions can escalate into lifetime consequences.
The stay-at-home mom's dispute over gate-checking her carry-on led to accusations she deliberately injured a United Airlines agent. After United told her she couldn't fly home on the plane that day, she booked a flight with another airline. Shortly afterward, she received the following notification from United:
Our review of the reported incident revealed that you exhibited disruptive behavior in the gate area when you intentionally kicked your luggage towards one of our employees, making unwanted physical contact with them. Based on the severity of this incident, we believe that your presence onboard future United flights creates a threat to the safety of our employees and passengers. Consequently, we are permanently banning you from travel on United and United Express partner flights. If you attempt to board one of our aircraft, we will take appropriate measures to prevent your carriage. We do not take this regrettable action lightly.
The article also reports on an American Airlines executive platinum member who found himself arrested and banned after becoming intoxicated and belligerent during a flight delay, a JetBlue customer's profanity-laced phone call about her repeatedly-canceled wedding trip resulting in permanent exile from the airline, and a sneaky a social media influencer's attempt to secure upgrades using forged documents leading to an immediate Cathay Pacific lifetime ban.
Of course, all four passengers claim misunderstandings. The Points Guy contacted each of the airlines to discuss the cases and the airlines either would not budge from their decisions or they refused to comment on the cases.
As the article says, airlines rarely reverse these decisions, especially in cases involving employee confrontations or fraud allegations.
The Point Guy's advice: "Indeed, air travel can sometimes be frustrating. But never let a temporary situation lead you to do something you'll deeply regret later. Take a breath, put your headphones on and listen to calming music. You'll eventually get where you're going — unless you do something that gets you kicked off the plane and banned forever."
Previously:
• Drunk gentleman gets aggressive mid-flight, punches passenger before plane is diverted
• Delta forced passenger to sit in feces: 'sit in your seat or you can be left behind.'
• Pilot yanks constipated United passenger out of bathroom, exposing him with pants down, says lawsuit
• Unruly passenger ordered to pay United Airlines $20,638 for acting like a jerk
• Delta passenger deplaned because her t-shirt somehow offended flight attendant
• Another United passenger pees all over plane — this one gets arrested and fined $10,000
• Flight attendant forced to wipe passenger's rear
