Qantas flight delayed after passengers refuse to fly without XL pyjamas
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We've heard some bizarre reasons why flights have been delayed in the past, like bees on the plane, airport workers dancing on the runway and a wild dog chase at Manchester Airport but never because of pyjamas - until today.
A Qantas flight was held up after two first class passengers threw a tantrum and refused to fly when they were told there were no XL-sized pyjamas, news.com.au reported.
The 15-hour flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne was delayed for 30 minutes while the Australians complained about not receiving the complimentary sleepwear in their size when the plane was preparing to taxi from the terminal.
Flight attendants offered the pair business class PJs but they were not happy with this and chose to leave the plane.
After their baggage was offloaded, the A380 eventually left and arrived in Melbourne on time.
One of the passengers is an expert in industrial and organisational psychology, which focuses on employee wellbeing.
Business class passenger Angela Ceberano told MX that the cabin erupted in laughter when the captain announced the reason for the flight delay.
'He said: "Just to inform you all, the reason we've had the delay is because two of our first class passengers refused to fly on this plane as there was no extra large pyjamas on board for them",' Ms Ceberano said.
One of the two passengers who left the plane told the crew: 'Make sure you tell everyone why we're so late: they didn't have pyjamas for us.'
Ms Ceberano said: 'In his mind, he thought everyone sympathised with him. If you didn't laugh you would have cried. It was unbelievable.'
Qantas's international first class passengers receive 'soft and luxurious pyjamas and slippers' while business class passengers get Peter Morrissey pyjamas on 'selected flights'.
Qantas spokesman Luke Enright confirmed the incident has occurred in LA but refused to give details.
He said: 'Two passengers elected to get off an aircraft just prior to departure in LA overnight.
'Other passengers were unaffected with the flight touching down in Melbourne this morning on schedule.'
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Think these passengers are bad. Check out the inflight antics of celebrities below...
Celebrity inflight antics
- Sienna Miller and Rhys Ifans' frolic mid-air<p> Back when this celebrity couple were loved-up and still together in 2008, they were spotted frolicking in a bed on a 12-hour flight from Los Angeles to London. Sienna and Rhys's shameless PDA was reported in the Daily Mirror. They were reportedly seen kissing and play-fighting in the Upper Class cabin. Passengers then watched as Rhys pulled off his top and jumped into Sienna's single, 33-inch bed before they watched a film, ate dinner and Rhys went back to his own seat... aah, how romantic.</p>
- Brian McFadden in trouble with Virgin<p> In February 2011, former Westlife singer Brian McFadden was marched off a Virgin flight from Los Angeles to Australia, allegedly for lighting up a cigarette and being under the influence of alcohol. He denied being drunk, despite fellow passengers claiming he drank heavily, shouted and was being abusive to everyone around him before he was restrained by Australian TV presenter Kyle Sandilands. Australian Federal Police confirmed that they were asked by Virgin to meet the flight on its arrival – but as there was no formal complaint made by the airline, and the singer was interviewed and released without charge. He later tweeted: 'Wasn't arrested! Didn't smoke on the flight. And the Virgin staff were very nice. I did have a few drinks but I was not smashed and abusive. If reports were true then I would have been arrested, fined and wosrt (sic)! Banned from my favourite airline V Australia. Storm in a tea cup.'</p>
- Courtney Love ticked off by cabin crew<p> Singer and actress Courtney Love was famously arrested at Heathrow Airport for "endangering an aircraft" back into 2003. According to the Daily Mail, she verbally abused crew members, and the crew said she refused to sit in her seat and put her seatbelt on. Police went on board and spoke to Love in the Upper Class cabin. She was taken to the airport's police station and later released with a caution for causing harassment, alarm and distress. As she left Love said: 'I cussed at a lady - my daughter always said I had a potty mouth.'</p>
- Justin Bieber upsets Qantas staff<p> Being told off is something most teenagers are used to but when Justin Bieber was labelled a "security risk" by a Qantas flight attendant in May 2011 for acting like a child, it wasn't the reception the star usually receives. According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, Bieber was said to have left his seat in business class on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne and decided to go for a walk as the plane was taxiing. The flight attendant ordered him and his bodyguard to sit down and told him that he'd be treated like a child if he acted like one. He later apologised after she told him to respect her workplace.</p>
- Whitney Houston refuses to buckle up<p> Singer Whitney Houston was almost kicked off a Delta Airlines flight in October 2011 when (in true diva style) she refused to buckle her seatbelt before the plane took off in Atlanta, Georgia. After being warned that she would have to leave the flight, the singer eventually allowed a flight attendant to do it for her and the plane was cleared for take-off. Phew!</p>
- Liam Gallagher banned from flying Cathay Pacific<p> Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was famously banned for life by one airline for his behaviour. Cathay Pacific made the drastic move after he allegedly abused crew and passengers on a flight to Australia back in 1998. Passengers complained that Gallagher smoked, swore and threw objects at them and staff on the flight from Hong Kong to Perth. In 2001, Gallagher was again in trouble with an airline when he reportedly humiliated a member of British Airways staff at Gatwick Airport by touching her bum, prompting a police investigation.... </p>
- Susan Boyle has a mid-air meltdown<p> The singer allegedly once kicked off at her niece in an air rage rant after her flight taking her from Tokyo to Scotland was delayed. In another incident, she had a mid-air meltdown on a night flight from LA after pulling out of America's Got Talent and was singing and crying during the flight, stopping other passengers from sleeping. Most recently in November 2011, Susan Boyle reportedly spent most of a 26-hour flight to Australia crying and arguing with her crew. Business class passengers complained about her behaviour during what was her first journey trip to Australia.</p>
- David Hasselhoff banned for having a tipple<p> In 2006, TV legend David Hasselhoff was allegedly banned from a British Airways flight for being drunk. The Baywatch star was due to fly to Los Angeles from Heathrow but was said to have been staggering around, mumbling to people and even tried to pick up a shop worker at Heathrow Airport. He reportedly downed bottles of beer and shots of whisky as he waited for his flight and told BA staff he was upset about divorcing his wife of 16 years. Hasselhoff wasn't aggressive and when he was told he couldn't board the plane, agreed with the staff.</p>
- Gerard Depardieu needs the loo<p> French actor Gerard Depardieu made the headlines in August 2011 when he was removed from a CityJet flight from Paris to Dublin for urinating on the plane. The aircraft was still on the ground and preparing for take-off when Depardieu asked to use the toilet but was told by staff to stay in his seat. He was then said to have stood up and took to the aisle to pee in a bottle. He later said that he had been desperate to go to the toilet after drinking a litre of water before boarding the plane. He offered to clean up any mess but was still thrown off of the flight!</p>
- Alec Baldwin's mobile phone misdemeanours<p> In Decmber 2011, actor Alec Baldwin was kicked off a plane for using his mobile phone before his American Airlines flight took off. The star of <em>30 Rock </em>complained on Twitter that an attendant had "reamed me out" for playing a game on his mobile phone, sparking a huge furore between the actor and the airline. American Airlines said he had been loud and abusive, while Baldwin claimed all he had been doing was playing the game Words With Friends. The saga continued when he appeared on US TV show Saturday Night Live dressed as an AA pilot and made a spoof apology, airline flight attendants. </p>
- Naomi Campbell has a lost luggage row<p> In 2008, Naomi Campbell was banned from flying with British Airways over a row about her lost luggage. The supermodel, known for her fiery temper, flew into a rage when one of her bags wasn't put on the Los Angeles-bound flight. She reportedly swore at the captain and ordered him to bring her her bags. Campbell was asked to leave the flight but refused and three police officers arrived to remove her. After a violent struggle, she was handcuffed and marched off the plane by police and later released on bail after spending several hours at the police station. Getting between a fashionista and her bags? That was never going to end well!</p>
And browse the top ten things to avoid doing on a plane...
Twelve things not to do on a plane
- Punch your fellow passengers<p> Ok, it's slightly annoying and uncomfortable when someone reclines their seat right back during the meal service, but it probably doesn't justify full blown fisticuffs, resulting in an F-16 fighter jet escort back to Washington and $50,000 worth of fuel being dumped, as happened on an American flight to Ghana last year.</p>
- Change a smelly nappy<p> It may be tough flying with babies, but if you cause a stink you could be in big trouble. One passenger who cleaned up her baby on a Qantas flight was held responsible for grounding a flight after cabin crew panicked about the 'strange smell'. The flight had to make an emergency landing at Mt Isa, where passengers say they had to be forklifted off the plane because the airport didn't have the facilities to disembark the huge Boeing 767. Not a good look.</p>
- Put hummingbirds in your pants<p> Strange as it may sound, one Dutch passenger was caught trying to smuggle hummingbirds in his pants on a flight from French Guiana in September 2011. They were sewn inside his pants, each individually wrapped in cloth and taped up to stop them escape him. Not surprisingly, he was spotted fidgeting and was eventually arrested... lesson learned (we presume).</p>
- Put a child in an overhead locker<p> Tempting as it may be, shutting a toddler in with the hand luggage is a definite no-no. One flight attendant was sacked for doing just that on a Virgin Blue flight in 2011. According to mum Natalie Williamson, he came and put her son Riley into a locker and closed the latch. He claimed it was part of a game of peekaboo, but Natalie - and the airline - saw things differently...</p>
- Pretend your dead husband is just 'asleep'<p> If you want to return a beloved, deceased relation to their homeland, you'll usually have to pay repatriation fees. One way to get round these is to do what two German women allegedly did when Curt Willi Jarant, the women's 91 year old husband/stepfather died and they wanted to fly him home to Germany: bundle him into a wheelchair, stick some sunglasses on him and say he's 'sleeping'. Only trouble is, someone eventually noticed.</p>
- Strap a drugged rhesus monkey to your belly<p> You know how it is - you go on holiday, spot a cute monkey, think how sweet it would be to have as a pet...For most of us, the fantasy ends there. Not so the American woman who spent an entire flight home from Thailand with a drugged rhesus monkey strapped to her to look like a pregnant belly. Incredibly, she got through security back home in LA, and was only caught when she blabbed to a shop assistant, who informed the (slightly embarrassed) authorities.</p>
- Wee in your seat<p> It's far better to cross your legs - believe us. French actor Gerard Depardieu was thrown off a City Jet flight from Paris to Dublin last August for urinating on the plane. The aircraft was ready to take off when the actor asked to use the toilet - but he was told by staff to stay in his seat. He resorted to peeing into a bottle, much to the chagrin of cabin crew. When some spilled onto the floor, the crew alerted the pilot and the plane had to taxi back to the terminal, where Depardieu was escorted off the plane.</p>
- Throw water at screaming children<p> Anyone who has children themselves (or even just a smidgen of common sense) will know that throwing water on a screaming baby is not the best way to quieten it, but this was the approach American passenger Ronald Duffy chose on a flight to Brazil in 2004. He was almost lynched by fellow passengers, his visa was revoked, he was deported...and still the baby kept crying (probably).</p>
- Try to open the emergency exit<p> It's not actually possible to open a plane's emergency exits when its in the air, but that knowledge would probably have done little to reassure passengers onboard a flight from Palma to Newcastle last year when a 22-year old man tried to pull open the plane doors at 36,000 ft, screaming 'it's ok, we're just on a flight simulator.' It took eight seat belts to restrain him and six police officers were waiting to arrest him when the plane made an emergency landing at Gatwick.</p>
- Get frisky in the toilet<p> A recent survey found that one in ten Brits claim have joined the 'Mile High Club' by having sex in a plane loo - but it could get you into serious trouble, as one Australian couple discovered on a flight in Queensland in December 2011. The pair were caught in a compromising position in the plane toilet - and the man was promptly charged with offensive and disorderly conduct under the Civil Aviation Safety Act.</p>
- Light up onboard<p> Despite the fact that smoking has been banned on aeroplanes for the last 15 years it didn't stop a Canadian family of three from lighting up on a flight to the Dominincan Republic. The plane was forced to divert and make an unscheduled landing in Bermuda and the other passengers had to spend the night in a hotel before continuing their journeys the next day. No prizes for guessing who the most unpopular passengers on that flight were!</p>
- Take photos up the skirt of an air hostess<p> It's no secret that most men find air hostesses rather attractive, but one 34-year-old man took his attraction a little bit far when he was caught taking pictures up the skirt of an airline attendant on a Japan Airways flight. He used a small, pen-shaped micro camera to take the photos and admitted that he couldn't help himself as he was "aroused by uniforms." However, he managed to escape criminal charges - because prosecutors couldn't determine exactly which part of Japan the plane was flying over at the time of the incident.</p>
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