‘You’ve now been warned’: Pilot threatens rowdy coach passengers with prison time instead of beach vacation

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Unruly passengers have been the topic of many a news story these days. It seems that the rise in passengers behaving badly spiked considerably during and after the pandemic or maybe we’re just seeing more reports because everyone is recording and sharing videos on social media.

But these incidents aboard airplanes around the world have got to be stressful for airline crew. And one pilot on a TUI flight from Glasgow to Tenerife made sure that he laid down the ground rules before takeoff. His pre-flight announcement made sure that all the passengers aboard, many of whom had apparently already hit the sauce and were rowdy, knew that he wasn’t going to tolerate any bad behavior.

TUI pilot lays down the law for rowdy passengers aboard his aircraft. The captain stood in the aisle between first class and economy, looked everyone in the eye and addressed the coach cabin with a friendly but stern announcement. Here’s the transcript of what he had to say:

“First and foremost, this is a family holiday flight, so I do not tolerate any rowdy behavior on the aircraft. It’s just not fair on everybody else on board, and it’s certainly not fair on my crew.

“So those who had a few scoops. Great, fantastic. You’re on holiday. That’s what it’s all about. Or part of what it’s all about. Do not let it get out of hand on this airplane.

“So I’ve got a bunch of cabin crew today who are still professionals. You only see them serving drinks, meals, selling duty free and so on, but actually they’re a critical part of the safety of the airplane, and they are my colleagues. And you will treat them with respect, please.

“If I consider it safe to carry on and not inconvenience the other 300 passengers on board the airplane, I’ll take the aircraft down to Tenerife, hand you over to the authorities there. You can spend your holiday in something less than a nice hotel or on a sunny beach.

“Okay, so those are the ground rules. I’m sorry I had to lay it down. But as I say, I’ve been advised that there are a number of people aboard the airplane whose behavior is approaching the limit of what is acceptable. You’ve now been warned.

“Okay, complete change of tone now. A very warm welcome on board to each and every one of you. It’s great to have you. First off, my apologies. We’re a little bit late. Um, so my personal apologies as captain.”

Watch the full video below:

@abcnews“You’ve now been warned.” This pilot decided to lay down the law prior to takeoff from Glasgow Airport after the behavior of some passengers was said to be “approaching the limit of what is acceptable.”♬ original sound – ABC News

Just a reminder for those that aren’t familiar with plane rules: The captain always has the last say and they almost always back their flight attendants, especially when in the air. So if you mess with a flight attendant, you can bet you will be either kicked off a flight or have the authorities waiting for you when you arrive. If it’s really bad, they’ll divert to a destination in between.

There have been countless examples of this happening, including this JetBlue passenger getting kicked off for not complying with the safety demonstration and then giving the flight attendant attitude.

But there are also times when the flight attendant lets their power get to their head and faces the consequences later, like when NFL Hall of Famer, Terrel Davis, was walked off the plane in handcuffs, but thanks to witnesses, the flight attendant was later fired.

Here’s another example of the power the captain of an aircraft wields. Back in April, our plane to Hawaii had a mechanical issue. The maintenance department cleared the aircraft for takeoff but the captain came on the PA and said, “I’m not really feeling it,” and denied the aircraft. I captured his incredible announcement on video.

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