When a man's gotta go, he's gotta go......

[Connetts]

Mango Airlines passenger urinates in front of passengers on flight | Daily Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2850022/Drunken-passenger-pulls-trousers-urinates-passengers-flight-clean-mess-cabin-crew.html)

[Capetonian]

He joins a small club.

Gerard Depardieu did the same, I believe it was on an AF flight, perhaps he was expressing the fact that he was pissed off with the airline's lousy service.

There was a Zim cabinet 'minister' who whilst travelling in first class, opened the curtain into Andrew Mitchell class and took a slash. Some thought it was a good opportunity for the now virtually defunct airline to coin a new slogan :

If you're pissed off with other airlines, fly Air Zimbabwe and get pissed on.

[Jwscud]

Those of us who have operated on LoCos know this is a rather more regular occurrence than you might wish. On the long Scotland-Southern Spain flights behaviour is frequently awful and having the Guardia Civil meet the aircraft on landing is not unknown.

Consider as you walk through departures at 0530 at EDI or GLA and the Wetherspoons is doing a roaring trade, as are your cabin crew from top of climb, it's not a massive surprise that drunken people behave badly, especially when there are long queues for the loo.

[crewmeal]

Many moons ago, on a flight from LHR-KIN a gentleman from the Caribbean got up and exposed himself in full view of First Class. What did the Purser do? Attacked the offending membrane with a serving spoon and told him to sit down and be quiet. The offending gentleman did just that holding himself for the rest of the flight!

[Basil]

Wasn't the passenger fortunate that the purser didn't have a steak knife and fork in hand :}

[flying lid]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/12/article-2048198-0E5912C800000578-613_233x336.jpg

[bugged on the right]

I stopped flying passengers at the end of the golden days in the 90s. The rise of low cost carriers spelled the demise of flying as fun in either the front or back of an aircraft. Freight was a great deal of fun for the next 10 years but that has fallen by the wayside. When yobbos can afford to fly, this is a typical result. Other results of low cost flying are the standards of cockpit crew training, the rapid spread of disease and ease of travel for terrorists. Glad to be out of it, had 33 years in the air and now won't fly.

[PAXboy]

This should have been anticipated. It may well have been the man's first flight and the fact that he was an adult doesn't mean he would understand the protocols and expectations of other societal groups. Yes - it was grim but - No - he would probably have not understood the problem.

I recall working in a Harley Street hospital (technical not medical) in the late 1970s. We used to have a lot of Middle Eastern clients in for heart surgery. (The benefits of oil had started to be realised) and many folks made their first ever journey outside their country.

Firstly, they came by air and then stayed in a place called a 'hospital' and saw a white bowl thing on the floor that they had never seen before and had no idea what it was for. After the first few months of accidents, more interpreters were on hand and one of their first duties was to teach Arab men how to use a W.C.

So, I am not defending this man. he may have been drunk and deliberately insulting. Or he may have reverted to beahviour in his village. That is not bad, just different and, if that was the case here, most unfortunate.

[evansb]

There is no excuse for that type of behavior.

[PAXboy]

Didn't say it was an excuse - but it might be an explanation.

If you were to be put on a spacecraft - without any tuition - and folks were mostly talking to you in a language you did not understand?

If you were from a village operating an interesting combination of 21st century mobile radio phones - but societal norms of the 19th century - how would you know how to behave in an aircraft?

IF IN YOUR VILLAGE it was customary for males to do that?

As I said, he may have been an intelligent man, regular traveller who set out to antagonise. Or not.

There are usualy two sides to the story and, as 99.99% of press sotires, we'll only hear one side.

[vctenderness]

In these PC days this could never happen but back in the 70's on BA flights from certain destinations a 'how to use a toilet' film was shown on the IFE.

It was not unusual to find folks urinating into the large ice bins during night flights and many a Jobbie has been found in places other than where expected:}

[PAXboy]

Thanks vct. Having lived in South Africa in my youth and just returned from mu umpteenth trip there (across 49 years) AND with family and friends living there throughout my life ... I have met some of the people who live there and know that, if we expect them to conform to Western Ways, you have to inform them.

(The same provisos as before)