An outraged American tourist was forcibly deported after a violent incident at a Colombian airport.
The traveler had to be removed from the country following a chaotic incident in which he attempted to kick down an airplane door in an unhinged display and attacked ground personnel after missing his flight.
The Colombian Air Workers Association reported that the passenger, whose identity is yet to be revealed, flew into a rage last Friday (August 23) after arriving late for his flight to Cartagena aboard LATAM Airlines.
The man was promptly informed he could not board the plane, and he started arguing with a staff member, quickly escalating the conflict until he became physically violent.
The incident comes at a particularly difficult time for the Latin American carrier, as it is dealing with an unprecedented fuel shortage that has led it to cancel over 30 flights.
An unhinged American tourist was deported from Colombia for trying to kick the door of a plane down after being told he couldn’t board it due to being late
In a desperate attempt to board the plane, the man stormed down the jet bridge and began kicking the aircraft’s door. One passenger caught the meltdown on video, while others were heard hyperventilating in the background.
“Oh god, he’s trying to kick the door down,” one scared woman is heard saying as a man tries to calm her.
“Please relax, there’s nothing we can do at this point,” he says, and the woman pleads with what seems to be flight attendants not to allow the man to board the plane.
After his attempts to forcibly board the plane failed, the man went to the bridge controls and fiddled with them, further scaring the passengers. Thankfully, they were made inoperable.
Still in a state of fury, he wandered around the area before striking a plane window while an airport employee was seen requesting police assistance.
The man assaulted security personnel and remained violent as he was taken into custody, prompting authorities to deport him within 4 hours of the incident
“This man had an aggressive demeanor that put both the staff and other travelers at risk,” said Daniel Gallo of the Colombian Air Transport Workers’ Union, who also confirmed that the man physically hurt ground staff upon being informed of his inability to board the plane.
“He then forcefully proceeded to the boarding gate, and when he couldn’t get on the plane, he chose to breach flight security.”
Hours after the event, authorities detained the unruly tourist, who was then taken to an immigration office. Reports confirmed that his demeanor continued to be aggressive during the ensuing hearing, which led to his immediate deportation.
For Gallo, this is just the latest of a long trend of unruly passengers in recent years.
“We continue to call on the National Government and Congress to take urgent and severe measures against these passengers, who are becoming more frequent every day,” he stated.
The airline has also been dealing with a massive fuel shortage that forced them to cancel more than 30 flights last Monday (August 26), with airports in the Colombian cities of Leticia, Montería, and Bucaramanga having their reserves completely depleted, while the capital city Bogotá reported having “critically low levels of fuel.”
Both local and international organizations warn of a consistent increase in the frequency of unruly passenger incidents on commercial flights, leading to stricter measures being considered
“Airlines and governments remain concerned about the frequency and severity of unruly and disruptive passenger incidents onboard aircraft,” states the latest report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
“These incidents include violence against crew and other passengers, harassment, verbal abuse, smoking, failure to follow safety and public health instructions and other forms of riotous behavior.”
According to the paper, which takes into account 24,400 reports from over 50 operators globally, there has been a consistent increase in passenger incidents in the last few years. With at least one violent incident for every 480 flights in 2023.
#ATENCIÓN | Un ciudadano americano fue deportado después de violar los filtros de seguridad en el aeropuerto El Dorado y golpear una aeronave y agredir su tripulación. pic.twitter.com/tVg2nPliRW
— Red+ Noticias (@RedMasNoticias) August 23, 2024
For the IATA, it’s all a matter of enhancing deterrence, as the organization states that around 60% of all cases do not proceed in their prosecution due to jurisdictional gaps in the Tokyo Convention of 1963, which governs offenses and certain other acts committed on aircraft.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), there were more than 900 incidents registered as of July 2024, twice the rate at which they occurred compared to 2020 levels.
In 2023, the FAA levied $7.5 million in fines across more than 2,000 incidents, with 39 of those being labeled as “high risk,” meaning the FBI had to get involved.
Netizens were outraged by the man’s behavior and asked for him to be sent to Colombian jail instead of just being deported
“Deported? That’s it? Essentially he was rewarded for his childish tantrum. He breached security, threatened safety, and damaged property. That maniac should be in a Colombian jail for a while,” one commenter wrote.
“Since he was a ‘US citizen’, he most likely was returned to the US. Can you imagine what a joy this guy was to sit by on his way back to America?” wondered another.
“He’s lucky he didn’t wind up in a Colombian prison. Personally, I would like to have seen that,” one stated.
“Why isn’t he in a Colombian jail? Maybe he’s the spoiled brat of a diplomat, which would make his arrest problematic. Colombia should identify this jerk,” said another.
Commenters criticized the man’s behavior, with many lamenting the current state of affairs on airplanes
