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There's no denying airports can be more than a little chaotic. Thousands of strangers under one roof, some sleep-deprived, others anxious or stressed, and a few facing drama thanks to an entitled Karen, or two.
Then there are flight delays, gate change announcements and security checks. Let's not forget that one person holding up the entire queue because they need to unpack their whole suitcase to find the thing that the should have been in their hand all along. Anyone who has traveled by plane would likely not be shocked by the usual chaotic airport goings-on. But then there are the other moments. The ones that don't come by every day... the ones that are too insane not to share.
Someone recently asked, "What's the craziest thing you've witnessed at an airport?" and the answers flew in faster than an Airbus 380. From the bizarre, to the funny, to the downright scary, people spilled the beans on scenes they can't forget.
Bored Panda has put together a list of the best for you to scroll through while you wait to board your next flight. Don't forget to upvote your favorites. We also take a look back at some of the craziest and most bizarre reasons flights have had to turn back around in recent times. You'll find that info between the images.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Back in the late 90s, so pre 9/11, I was going through security at LaGuardia in NY. There’s a family ahead of me sending their bags through the X-ray machine and everything stops. They pull a bag and open it up and pull out a big butcher knife. The mother turns to the son, who was 11-12, and screams “WHY THE HELL DID YOU PUT THAT IN YOUR BAG!?! THAT’S ONE OF MY GOOD KNIVES! I PAID $80 FOR THOSE KNIVES!!!” All the kid could do was shrug his shoulders and say “I don’t know. I thought I might need it.” They confiscated the knife much to the mom’s dismay and let them go on their way.
nottheactualphoto 53 minutes ago
She could have checked it as a "bag." It was free in those days.
There's certainly no shortage of drama at airports or even up in the sky. While it's rare for a plane to turn around again after taking off, when it does happen, it's usually because of something serious: a medical emergency on board, a security risk, maybe even a mechanical failure.
In March 2025, a United Airlines flight departed LAX in Los Angeles with 257 passengers and 13 crew onboard. The Boeing 787 jetliner was 2 hours into the flight, bound for Shanghai, China and was cruising northwest over the Pacific Ocean. Suddenly, the pilot turned the plane around and started making his way to San Francisco.
His reason had nothing to do with any drama or emergency on board...
RELATED:
#2
Airport security, baggage handlers and airport rescue/fire trucks chasing down an escaped Daschund through the grass on the airfield.
After the plane touched down at San Francisco airport, the crew disembarked and a new crew took over. All because the pilot had forgotten something...
“The pilot did not have their passport onboard,” United Airlines admitted in a statement. “We arranged for a new crew to take our customers to their destination that evening. Customers were provided with meal vouchers and compensation.”
The pilot's absent-mindedness meant that the flight eventually landed in Shanghai about six hours behind schedule, with more than a few annoyed passengers on board.
#4
Standing in a boarding line bound for Thailand from Perth, Oz I heard a sneeze further back in the line. About 1 second later a full set of teeth went flying by with a guy chasing after them. I guess he sneezed out his set of false teeth and didn’t want to lose them.
Kali Chaos 3 hours ago
I bet. I have a partial that only replaces two teeth, and that alone is like $600.
#5
I saw a woman completely miss her flight while sitting at her gate. She was reading and realized as they closed the boarding door that all zones had boarded. She wasn’t even wearing headphones. Just totally unaware of her surroundings as she was deep in her book. The gate agent refused to reopen the door and she watched through the window as her plane left without her.
In 2023, Delta Airlines made headlines after one of its planes was forced to turn around due to a "biohazard" incident on board. The flight was two hours into the journey from Atlanta to Barcelona, Spain when the pilot requested to head back to Atlanta.
The "biohazard" turned out to be a terrible bout of diarrhea that struck one passenger and affected many more. In an audio recording posted on X (formerly Twitter), a voice can be heard saying, "We've had a passenger who's had diarrhoea all the way through the airplane, so they want us to come back to Atlanta."
#6
A guy eating his sandwich together with the wrapping paper.
When I asked him why he ate it he looked me dead in the eyes and said ,,I paid for it " to this day I don't understand his thought process.
Just to preface the sandwich was packed in a thick brown paper wrapping and he ate the whole thing even when there was no sandwich left he just bit of pieces of the paper wrapping.
#7
Bag fire/explosion on the main TSA checkpoint at DEN airport. Flames shot out like 25ft out of the Xray machine, and officers/passengers alike just started scrambling for the exits in a full-on evacuation. Bags & luggage just left scattered behind on the checkpoint and everything. It was difficult at first to tell if it was someone playing a prank and bringing a lit firework, or was it a legit IED detonation attempt.
Luckily some TSA officers were able to grab some fire extinguishers and put out the small blaze in a matter of minutes. But it was nuts to see the response. Every alphabet soup agency you could think of popped up out of nowhere: Denver fire/PD, FBI, ATF, DEA, Air Marshals Service all showed up to investigate, they all got there so fast. They weren’t playin’.
Within 90minutes, it was determined that it was just some dude’s lithium ion battery from a vape ignited next to a can of Axe that caused the inferno - and the checkpoint was back up and running again. Made the local news that evening!
The "medical issue" caused a massive delay and maintenance crews reportedly spent five hours cleaning the Delta Airlines Airbus A350. They also had to replace an aisle carpet that was ruined in the incident.
“Our teams worked as quickly and safely as possible to get our customers to their final destination," said Delta in a statement. "We sincerely apologize to our customers for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans.”
#8
Probably the wildest thing I’ve seen was a guy literally falling asleep *standing up* in the line and slowly tipping over onto people
Everyone freaked out for a second, then burst out laughing.
Airports are just pure chaos sometimes.
Karma Black 4 hours ago
I have a terrible fear of flying. I get a prescription for valium every time. Without it, I clench my teeth hard enough to crack them. This could easily be me if I take it too early.
#9
A woman going through the security screening scanner topless. There was a language barrier and the TSA agent insisted threateningly that she had to remove her jacket, not understanding that she didn't have anything on underneath it.
In the most recent "biohazard" flight incident, a passenger's "relentless gas" saw cabin crew intervening after those on board complained of the foul smell.
"For the five hours that the passengers were on board, the stench did not dissipate," reported Wion News in December 2025. "It got so bad that the crew had to regularly spray air fresheners and also distribute face masks."
The incident has sparked debate around why the smell failed to dissipate despite modern aircraft filtration systems. "However, flights have a mix of fresh and recirculated air, with approximately 50 per cent fresh outside air and 50 per cent recirculated air," notes Wion.
#10
I was at a layover in L.A. and I saw a guy meeting his wife/girlfriend (young couple anyway) that must have missed each other a whole lot, wherever she'd been. When they ran into each other's arms, he ran his hand down the front of her pants and her's into his. I was like, "Well, alrighty then." lol
EDIT: Yes, I realize that in L.A., that doesn't even make the Top 500 of weird things you see, but where I'm from, yeah, that's a little unusual.
#11
Saw 2 penguins walking through the security xRay at San Jose airport. No leashes just waddling through like they knew the process.
#12
I passed by a gate where passengers were waiting, and a man opened up his violin case and started fiddling what sounded like an Irish reel of some sort. I stopped to listen. He was very good and drew enough attention that no one noticed two of his fellow musicians sitting nearby break out their own instruments and jumped in after the fiddler made his opening musical statement. (I don’t think I’m explaining this right.) The musicianship was so good that we all assumed they were on their way to perform somewhere. Quite a crowd had gathered and I kinda choked up a little over this unexpected encounter with art and beauty.
#13
The x-ray thing buzzed on me and during the patdown the agent literally knocked on my dong bulge like he was knocking on a door.
#14
During the late 90's at KDFW concourse E "satellite" terminal, where Delta Connection flights boarded with no jetways... airstairs only.
I saw a sixty-ish year old woman come out of the terminal holding her boarding pass at arm's length in front of her like a divining rod, and instead of walking to our EMB-120 and climbing aboard, she headed for the first airplane she saw with a Delta logo... which was a 767 parked at the *main* terminal behind us, across a pretty active taxiway...
And about twenty of the passengers behind her *followed* her like baby ducks.
#15
Saw a guy walk away from security and he left one shoe. I’m like, how do you not realize you’re missing a shoe???
#16
We were going through security at an airport in Chongqing, China and accidentally had kept some aerosol cans of bug spray in our backpacks. The security officer took one out and started motioning to us about not being allowed to bring the cans through. No big deal, we were fine with them being thrown away. But to emphasize her point, the officer grabbed a lighter from a pile of confiscated items and did an aerosol flamethrower demo in front of us, right there in the security line! Two or three feet of flames, it was wild. And then we were told to head on to the metal detectors as if nothing had happened.
Zig Zag Wanderer 2 hours ago
And yet we're allowed to take aerosols, and liquids, on planes in Australia, and there aren't any problems. SMH
#17
Ooooo I’ve been waiting for this question my whole life! Back in the day when my older cousin got her license, we went to the airport to people watch (bored teenagers). We watched a man kiss his wife goodbye and headed toward his gate, and she was sobbing uncontrollably. She left in that state, and we watched her go down the escalator just BAWLING. Then, the guy turned around. We thought he was going to run after her, but instead another lady came out of a restaurant and they hugged and kissed and left down another escalator together. Scandalous!!
#18
Someone losing it trying to smash the handle off of his suitcase because it was stopping it from fitting in the little box they use to check it will fit in the overhead compartment, dude was screaming at everyone, frantically failing to break the handle.
#19
It was an overbooked flight and two guys started arguing over which one would have the privilege of getting bumped because they both wanted a free flight voucher.
#20
I literally witnessed how another guy walks out with my checked baggage from LAX arrivals.
Turns out he also had the exact same big turquoise suitcase on wheels and didn’t bother looking at the name tag when collecting it from the belt conveyor. When his suitcase dropped on the belt, I looked at the tag and realized what just happened. Took his suitcase and immediately dashed to the airline office. They gave me his details (!) so I found him on socials hoping to catch him and swap suitcases but when he eventually read the message, he’d already been 3 hours away from the airport. Finally, the airline took 3 days to find and deliver my suitcase at my door.
Not to mention I had bought that very suitcase the day before the flight and chose it only for its unique color to avoid anyone mistaking it for theirs.
#21
Toronto Pearson airport January 2023, Air Canada customer service desk in international departures.
I overheard the conversation between 2 young passengers and the service desk. They were confused about what to do after their flight was canceled and couldn’t find the right info because they had been passed on from one service counter to another, or told to call a number only to be told to talk to the customer service counter.
The guy working at customer service started yelling at these confused travellers for being mean to him. He made a big scene and told them he wasn’t going to help them, flipped them off, and then moved on to the next customer in a huff.
Again… this is at the Air Canada customer service desk meant to help customers.
Zig Zag Wanderer 1 hour ago
Air Canada, customer services? The absolute last place I would expect such behaviour!
#22
This has to be approximately 1999 in the Las Vegas airport. Late in the evening at the gates was a family. Mom, very drunk dad and several kids. Dad is being denied boarding the plane due to his drunkenness. Oldest kid (young teen) is begging mom to get on the plane and fly the kids home. From what I overhear, dad has gambled any money they had left and they don’t have enough to get a room for the night or eat. Mom is wavering back and forth and won’t leave the husband. Kids seem scared and just want to go home. Last I saw, mom looked like she was standing by her man and the family was not going to get on the plane. I was only 20 at the time and didn’t want to get involved in their drama, but an older me would have begged the mom to leave her drunk, gambling husband behind and take her kids home. Poor kids.
#23
I used to carry around a spent Ak47 round in my wallet.
Long story short when deployed with the Army it had hit my bed where I sleep while I wasn't there. I carried it as a trophy and reminder of good luck.
Anyway, I took it with me through security and TSA freaked out. It was obviously spent with no case or powder and deformed bullet from impact, but TSA agents reacted like it was a live round and I was a terrorist and swarmed me and held me until police got there. Police luckily laughed at them and let me keep it but suggested I don't take it through TSA security in the future.
So it sits in my desk now.
#24
I once had a crazy lady start yelling at me because I accidentally made eye contact with her. She had a big goose egg on her head and had been shouting some nonsense before that. I just walked away and she left me alone but it was something else.
#25
September 2020, LAX to Austin flight is mostly empty. Older gentleman across from me takes off his mask and pulls out a potato. No beverage, no condiments, no napkins. Just slowly houses a large Idaho baker staring straight ahead. Puts his mask back up and stares for the remaining two hours. No book, no device, not a word to anyone. .
#26
A dude rolling on the up escalator.
Not on purpose, he stumbled, dropped all his s**t on the escalator and proceeded to roll, in a kind of sideways crouched position, down the up escalator. But, because it was going up, he was staying in place.
We arrived at the bottom, saved his stuff, stopped him and the escalator.
Could have been bad and I'm sure he felt it after the alcohol wore off.
#27
Walked into the men’s room at Minneapolis-St. Paul and a guy was buck naked, in the middle of changing clothes, right there in the common area near the sinks.
Lyone Fein 2 hours ago
Where else was he going to change? Especially if he had to open up his luggage to get fresh clothes.
#28
Going through TSA in the Los Angeles airport. They used the millimeter wave scanner; put your feet on the shoe prints on the floor and raise your hands slightly above your head.
There is an older lady in front of me and it was her turn to enter the scanner. The agents tell her how to stand. She puts her feet on the shoe prints, leans forward and places her hands well above her head and on the wall. An agent yells at her asking what she thinks she is doing.
She yells back, “I thought you were telling to me to assume the position!”
The TSA agents all started laughing. Good thing I got to the airport early. That line didn’t move for a while as the agents tried to explain to her how they wanted her to stand.
#29
Some kids bag of the family that was in front of me at TSA got pulled and they found throwing knives in his bag. The dad looked so pissed and the kid was playing dumb and saying he “didn’t know they were in there” and he “didn’t know how they got there”. Dad just told the agent to throw them out and was scolding the kid.
#30
The craziest thing is always how quickly people transition from normal human to panicked, irrational animal when their flight is delayed by 30 minutes.
But the actual craziest incident I saw was at JFK: A guy somehow managed to get through security with a massive frozen turkey in his carry-on bag. When TSA finally noticed the density on the X-ray, they pulled him aside, and he started yelling about how it was a necessity for a family reunion and demanding to speak to a turkey lawyer. It was just absurd.
#31
I was at Kuala Lumpur International late one evening, waiting for my flight. It was quiet and I was bored, so I was exploring the area when I encounter a security guard in a walkway. He's carrying an MP5 submachine gun. I like firearms (even though I am Australian and cannot have nice things), so I smile and say " Selamat petang! That's a nice MP5 you have there!"
The guard responds with a huge grin, exclaims "It is BEAUTIFUL!" and holds the gun up close to me so I can inspect it. Sure, it was still strapped to him, but hooly dooly it was as if he were offering for me to take the gun. Instead, I just nodded my approval and kept smiling, while making sure my hands were visible and not making any sudden movements 😊.
Zig Zag Wanderer 1 hour ago (edited)
You definitely CAN have nice things here. Machine guns are NOT nice things. They only have one purpose. Most people shouldn't be allowed guns anyway, as we discovered yet again recently. 😢
#32
I went to an American school in Asia back in the 90s.
Since we were all expats, most kids who went there would go on flights for school break. And at that time, there was like a dozen major international airport hubs in the world. You figure with hundreds kids flying on long international flights, and so few major international hubs, you would see your classmates. So, I would randomly see a classmate 10,000 miles away from school in Frankfurt on Christmas break. And the craziest thing wasn't seeing them, it was just business as normal. Like seeing them in the hallway at school. No biggie.
Now, if I see a coworker at a Target 5 miles away, we would react like we won the lottery while being struck by lightning at the same time.
Zig Zag Wanderer 1 hour ago
I once met someone I had worked with in London several years previously in Zurich airport. She lived in London still, and I lived in Sydney, Australia, then....
#33
Me using my outdoor bag not my travel bag. The outdoor bag had a giant knife in it. I got a letter from the federal government.
#34
In Phoenix Sky Harbor, more than a few years ago, I watched (and heard) a guy clip his toe nails. You just can’t forget something like that.
#35
I once had a short layover in Chicago. While waiting at the gate, this lady was sitting there calmly puking into a clear gallon sized zip lock bag. Didn't even try to hide it. The bathroom was RIGHT OVER THERE. ---->
#36
This was 2018ish. Mid major west coast airport and Woman was holding up line arguing with TSA agent about why she couldn’t bring a gallon zip lock bag half full of white protein powder in her carryon. 😆 she ate some of it raw to make a point. it was hilarious karenism. I was also shocked how much TSA didn’t give a fuck. They did a quick test and were telling her to check the bag and were still going to allow her and it on plane.
#38
Technically I didn't witness this. V young co worker had never flown and went on holiday with her very immature and unworldly childish boy friend. After her holiday I asked her how she enjoyed it. She said they went to the airport and got through security but didn't really understand about gates and how to board. Basically they sat in the lounge clueless while their flight left. She said she heard then calling their names and told her boyfriend. He convinced her they didn't mean them.
#39
I was in Line at immigration to get back into the US and an immigration officer yells out, does anyone speak Spanish? I reply, I do. He ushers me over and he tells me to translate to an old Hispanic lady. “Tell her the next time she comes through here, I will take her permanent residence card right here and she will be denied entry into the US”. Apparently your not supposed to be out of the country for more than six months at a time within a year. She wasn’t in America in over a year. When I told her, what the agent was saying she started to cry. I felt bad.
Fungus John 4 hours ago
the gate agent totally knew spanish, he just wanted you to be the bad guy
#40
It was during Covid and I was flying out of Orlando. As I was walking to get in line for the TSA checkin, everyone was masked up and then I saw it. A male and female couple I assume was dressed head to toe in a quarantine suit. I'm talking about the hood with the faceshield, gloves and booties over their shoes.
#41
We were going through security and a bunch of people just in front of us were told they weren’t allowed to take their bottles of spirits through (idk why it was a surprise, fairly standard). They then just drank about three bottles of spirits there and then as they didn’t want to throw them away. They were Scottish in case anyone was wondering.
#42
Booked a trip to Mexico last fall. Went into a bathroom stall and this dude was doing bumps. He forgot to lock his door. I just giggled and carried on.
Tells me he forgot he had it on him and didn’t wanna throw it away, so he figured why not finish it before his flight. Was kind enough to let me have two bumps.
What do you think ?
Lyone Fein 2 hours ago
Another option for reacting to unexpected airport situations: amusement!
Zig Zag Wanderer 2 hours ago (edited)
The craziest thing I ever saw at an airport was cats! In 1985 or so, I was at Cairo airport. I kept seeing some movements out of the corner of my eyes. On closer examination, I realised that the ENTIRE AIRPORT was filled with cats! They slunk around and hid beneath seats etc, but were there by the thousand. I guess they still regard them as divine?
nottheactualphoto 38 minutes ago
I would love to encounter an airport full of cats.
Load More Replies... Lyone Fein 2 hours ago
Another option for reacting to unexpected airport situations: amusement!
Zig Zag Wanderer 2 hours ago (edited)
The craziest thing I ever saw at an airport was cats! In 1985 or so, I was at Cairo airport. I kept seeing some movements out of the corner of my eyes. On closer examination, I realised that the ENTIRE AIRPORT was filled with cats! They slunk around and hid beneath seats etc, but were there by the thousand. I guess they still regard them as divine?
nottheactualphoto 38 minutes ago
I would love to encounter an airport full of cats.
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