Curiosity led me to dig into why celebrities get flying bans and what losing flight access really means for travel to Europe; I know you’re thinking about it, getting to Europe on a boat takes 2 weeks.
In 2006, Snoop Dogg and his entourage got into a fight with Heathrow security. British Airways banned everyone involved. The airline said none of them would ever fly BA again. Other bans follow the same pattern: disruptive behavior that crosses a line.
A few examples:
- Alec Baldwin was kicked off an American Airlines flight in 2011 after refusing to turn off his phone during takeoff.
- Naomi Campbell was banned from British Airways in 2008 after an altercation with police over lost luggage.
- David Hasselhoff was initially denied boarding by BA for being intoxicated.
- Ivana Trump was removed from a flight in 2009 after becoming belligerent about screaming children.
- Josh Duhamel refused to power down his phone during taxi. The pilot turned the aircraft around and had him removed.
- Kate Moss was taken off an EasyJet flight in 2015 after disruptive behavior and comments to the crew.
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers was banned from United for a period due to drunken behavior.
- Liam Gallagher was banned for life from Cathay Pacific after an onboard argument involving a scone. He said he’d rather walk.
These bans can be lifted. And no one is banned from all carriers. Airlines set their own policies. There is no global system tracking bad passengers.
Separately, governments run their ow-fly lists. These target terrorism, not unruly customers. Examples include:
- The US No Fly List
- The UK’s aviation security controls
- Canada’s Secure Air Travel Act List
- The EU’s use of Schengen and common security indicators
If you lose the ability to fly commercially, you can still cross oceans in a plane, but the cost or time becomes large. San Francisco to Berlin costs $250K on a private jet or a 14-day crossing by ship.