Airports and airlines have systems and procedures in place so that things can run smoothly and efficiently. Yet there’s often that one person who thinks the rules don’t apply to them. Whether it's arriving way too late, cutting queues, or demanding a different seat on the plane, we've heard our fair share of entitled passenger stories.
One woman shared how she and other passengers were subjected to an ongoing tantrum from a screeching Karen while boarding a flight to the U.K. at the end of 2024. The passenger believed that she was entitled to special treatment despite not paying extra for priority boarding. When the crew cut her down to size, she claimed it was all a misunderstanding. But seconds later, she was at it again. Her outburst almost had her removed from the flight. Bored Panda had a brief chat with the woman who witnessed the whole ordeal to find out a little more.
Standing in long queues at the airport is sometimes unavoidable unless you're willing to pay for privilege
Image credits: mstandret / Envato (not the actual photo)
One woman went on a full-on rant when she was removed from the priority boarding line because she wasn't meant to be there
Image credits: Markus Winkler / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: DC Studio / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: autisticfarmgirl
Ryanair has seen an increase in unruly passengers over the past few months
Image credits: Lucas Davies / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The woman who witnessed the incident told Bored Panda she posted about it because she felt others would be just as frustrated as she was by the passenger's behavior. She added that she wasn't too surprised by the comments, with most people condemning Karen's outburst and nobody justifying it.
"Airport/airplane staff get a LOT of abuse from passengers, and it’s just not on," she said. "Abusing service workers (or anyone) is always vile, and they’re not the ones making the rules so folks are mad at the wrong people anyway. Travellers need to take a step back and not take it out on whoever is in front of them."
Just two days before the Karen’s screeching rant, a Ryanair Scotland-bound flight was diverted after a drunken passenger became disruptive onboard. The man was arrested when the plane touched down at the Seve Ballesteros-Santander Airport in Spain.
In November, a small group of Ryanair passengers traveling from the East Midlands were arrested upon touchdown in Tenerife. As the Lincolnshire Live reported, “The crew was compelled to pre-alert Spanish authorities due to the chaos unfolding aboard. One incident described involved an individual who 'urinated in the aisle of the plane'."
In August, Ryanair's CEO, Michael O’Leary, announced a sharp increase in unruly behavior from its passengers. O'Leary said it's got to the point where Ryanair faces cases of passenger assaults on a weekly basis. The airline blamed alcohol and responded to the spike in incidents by implementing stricter measures to help avoid drunken behavior.
And a few months later, in December 2024, Ryanair welcomed an Athens court ruling that saw an unruly passenger receive a 5-month suspended sentence and €400 fine for disrupting a flight in 2020. The passenger had refused to follow crew instructions.
"Ryanair is committed to ensuring that all passengers and crew travel in a safe and respectful environment, without unnecessary disruption caused by a tiny number of unruly passengers," reads a Ryanair statement.
"Ryanair has a strict zero tolerance policy towards passenger misconduct and will continue to take decisive action to combat unruly passenger behavior on aircraft for the benefit of the vast majority of passengers who do not disrupt flights."
"She won't recover": Ryanair's amusing take on priority boarding
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Ryanair has a humorous take on priority boarding, to explain the concept to passengers who might be a little confused. The airline’s website features a Karen, or as they call her, Vanessa, lounging on a deck chair, kitted out in a white robe, cucumbers on her eyes, drink in hand. The accompanying headline reads: “Vanessa couldn’t believe Priority Boarding wasn’t First Class… She won’t recover.”
It goes on to explain the entitled woman’s predicament. “Vanessa felt like a celebrity when we called ‘Priority Boarding’ on her low fare flight but was devastated to see she had to queue with other people,” reads the site. “Hopefully she can pamper her way to a better place.”
Ryanair notes that it limits the amount of priority spaces to 100 per flight. And reminds passengers that "Priority is all about that extra bag you want to bring. It means you’ve reserved space in the overhead lockers."
It adds that priority allows for quicker aircraft boarding, there's no need to reconfigure overhead lockers, and the flight can "get moving on time to keep costs low".
People were curious to know the nationality of the entitled passenger
"Karma WILL get her": some felt that Karen got off lightly
Netizens shared their own similar stories
