Angry Airline Passenger Slaps Airport Staff During Security Check [Video]

An angry tourist slapped an airport staff at a security check-in at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on Saturday.

The incident took place in the departure area when the South Korean tourist was going through baggage check-in accompanied by a man. As she walked through the full body scanner, the alarm went off and hence she was asked to step aside in order to be scanned by a handheld detector.

CCTV footage of the incident shows the woman getting agitated as soon as she is asked to move aside. When the staff places her hand on the woman in order to direct her, she creates “X” over the woman’s head. She then stands still for a while as the staff screens her. However, as soon as the staff touches her right arm, she again created “X” above her head and goes on to slap her abruptly.

The man who accompanied the lady, immediately embraces her and pulls her aside while other airport employees step in to control the situation. The male tourist approaches the staff and apologizes.

The staff then filed a complaint at the Suvarnabhumi Airport Police Station, who fined the tourist 1,000 Thai Baht ($32) before she left the country, Nation Multimedia reported.

Kittipong Kittikachorn, the executive vice president and deputy general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said their staff was assaulted despite following standard principles of security measures in accordance with training given to them.

“The alarm went off when she walked through the scanner, so the staff asked to scan her body again with a handheld detector. She appeared upset, then she attacked the staff,” she said, Khaosod English reported.

“I admire her [staff] for being patient. Although she was attacked, she neither acted against [the assailant at the time] nor pursued a case, because the offender was a foreign tourist and the Thai agent was afraid that it [any form of retaliation] might affect the service image of the airport,” Kittipong said, adding no further legal action will be initiated against the tourist.

In a similar incident in December 2018, another South Korean national allegedly assaulted an immigration official at Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport in Indian state of Karnataka. The immigration officer informed Seugwan Park to either pay 2,000 INR ($28) as VISA charges. His credit card wasn’t accepted due to an issue with the swiping machine. He was also refused to use an ATM outside the airport. The man got agitated after waiting for over three hours and assaulted the officer, critically injuring his eye. Park was then taken into custody, local daily the Deccan Herald reported.