Man expresses frustration with US Air by stripping naked at Charlotte airport
When you hear that your flight has been overbooked, you can react in a number of different ways. You can cross your arms and throw yourself down into a departure gate chair, exhaling loudly to convey the message, "Of COURSE it is;" you can shrug it off and finish eating the Pinkberry you earned by walking on the carpet (not a moving sidewalk); or you can calmly and quietly strip off all of your clothes after yelling at the gate agents. An unidentified man chose option 3 on Wednesday morning, giving passengers at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport an eyeful that nobody asked for.
Sherry Ketchie, who witnessed the incident, told news station WBTV that the man was upset after learning that his US Airways flight to Jamaica was overbooked. She's also the one who snapped pictures of him (and then presumably excused herself to bleach her own corneas), posting them on her Facebook page with the caption "Result of hissy fit." (But don't click that link unless you want to see an uncensored man who's wearing nothing but gravity's pull and a set of already impressive tan lines). Ketchie told reporters:
I seen some people running and people were standing there snickering so I walked over and [an airport employee] told me the man was angry over the Jamaican flight. [...] He started standing there with his arms crossed and hollering at the lady at the desk. He stood there for a moment and then started taking off his clothes. I ain't never seen nothing [like that] in my life.
The man cruised around the concourse naked for about an hour before he was taken into custody by the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police. The police department confirmed to WBTV that it had taken a call concerning a man "suffering from a medical issue," and added that he will not be facing charges.
The trade organization Airlines for America has predicted that this summer will be the busiest ever for air travel, with an estimated 222 million passengers taking to the skies from June 1 through August 31. That means that there could be a lot of overbooked flights for the next three months. It's up to you how you'll choose to respond but know that if you decide to pull your pants off, you're going to end up right here, with an airline logo pasted over your extremities.