The Craziest Travel Stories From 2024

2024 was a massive year for travel and with so much happening there were bound to be some crazy stories.

From scary incidents in the skies to naughty passengers and crippling outages, 2024 certainly was a memorable year in travel.

Here’s a recap of some of the year’s wildest headlines.

Boeing 737 MAX Mid-Air Blowout

The year began with one of the more shocking incidents in air travel when a door panel blew off of a Boeing 737 MAX plane operated by Alaska Airlines on January 5.

Fortunately, only three people sustained minor injuries and the plane was able to return to the airport. However, the incident was a huge hit to Boeing which continues to navigate a challenging path forward after staining its reputation and incurring significant revenue loss.

Baltimore’s Key Bridge Collapse

Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo Credit: tamas/Adobe)

The Port of Baltimore was temporarily closed to cruise ship traffic after a cargo ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in late March, causing it to collapse in a disaster that killed six workers who were on the bridge at the time.

While the port continues to serve cruise ships the bridge will take years to rebuild.

Crippling CrowdStrike Outage

The busy summer travel period was impacted heavily by an unexpected IT outage involving CrowdStrike that led to thousands of flight cancellations and other disruptions.

Delta Air Lines was hit hardest by the outage, which prompted lawsuits, finger pointing and more.

Former NFL Player Gets Unruly on Delta Flight

In August, former NFL player Gosder Cherilus was arrested at Logan International Airport after allegedly urinating on a passenger and hitting another on an overnight flight from Boston to Dublin.

Cherilus, who was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and disturbing a flight crew, later apologized, saying he took a sleep aid after learning that his flight would be delayed several hours.

Delta Air Lines plane taking off from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. (Photo Credit: kamilpetran/Adobe)

Drunken Pilot Receives Prison Sentence

A former Delta Air Lines pilot was sentenced to 10 months in prison in March after arriving at Scotland’s Edinburgh Airport for a transatlantic flight while intoxicated.

The American citizen was slated to captain the June 2023 flight but a blood alcohol test revealed that he had surpassed the legal limit.

Flight Attendants Fail Breathalyzer Test

In a similarly disturbing story, a pair of Delta flight attendants failed a random breathalyzer test at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in November, with one crewmember blowing a 0.143, which is seven times the legal limit for flight crews and nearly double the legal limit allowed for drivers in the U.S.

That employee was fined the maximum penalty of $1,900.

TSA Screens Record Number of Passengers

Travelers wait in TSA security line at Orlando International Airport (Photo Credit: Eric Bowman)

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recorded its busiest day ever on the heels of the Thanksgiving travel period, screening 3.087 million air travelers on December 1. The agency also surpassed the 3 million mark on July 7 following the Fourth of July holiday.

Stowaway Sneaks onto International Flight

A 57-year-old Russian woman made headlines this holiday season when she bypassed multiple checkpoints to board a Paris-bound Delta Air Lines flight at New York City’s JFK Airport without a ticket.

Delta “is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred” while TSA prepares to bring a civil case against the woman.

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