Going to the airport can be a stressful experience. You worry your bag is too big or too heavy
for the airline allowances even though you weighed it at home – twice. Halfway through the journey to the airport,
you panic as you realize you’ve left your passport at home. And when you finally make it in, you’re
worried that somehow you won’t make it to the boarding gate on time and will miss the
flight. Or maybe I’m just a neurotic mess. But whether you're a jet setter who sees the
airport as a second home or the type who feels their blood pressure increasing as soon as
they enter the terminal, you might have found yourself wondering just how far you can step
out of line. You might get a slap on the wrist for leaving
your perfume in your hand luggage, but what would it really take to get arrested? Chances are, a night in prison probably isn’t
going to be on the cards for most flying felonies – as long as you’re not stupid enough
to do any of these things. Some rules are as simple as keeping your passport
in good condition and not being under the influence of drugs, but there are also some
more obscure rules, like not shining lasers at planes or writing down their names. So, if you want to be sure that you always
make it to your destination on time without a lengthy detour in a jail cell, you should
probably keep watching. Topping the list of painfully obvious things
you should never, ever, ever do at an airport is carry an item that could be mistaken for
a bomb with you. You might be thinking ‘Infographics, who
on earth would do that?’ Well, I’ve got news for you. An artist once found himself in a precarious
position when he went through airport security with a homemade wrist watch complete with
various fuses, wires, and switches – basically, it looked exactly like a bomb, and it even
seemed to have a timer. Perfect. To complete his suspicious ensemble, the man
wore a military-style shirt, tried to evade the check, and even tried to hide his watch
from officers by putting it in a bin. You can imagine how that went down. But despite all the drama, the item on his
wrist wasn’t even a weapon – it was art, darling. Eventually the court realized that the eccentric
artist was telling the truth and his watch was genuinely just a useless piece of junk
– sorry, art – rather than a dangerous weapon. And the deeper meaning behind the piece? Not a clue. But the poor sod was charged for possession
of materials that could be used to make a bomb, and ended up paying $150,000 in bail
money. Ouch. There aren’t many people in the world who
build dubious wrist accessories for a hobby, but it turns out that you can also be arrested
for taking something much more benign. I’m talking about taking an accessory that
simply features a gun. A seventeen-year-old girl was once prevented
from boarding her flight in a US airport because she had a purse that had an ornamental gun
on its front. She might have been suffering from poor fashion
taste, but it doesn’t exactly take a genius to work out that a rectangular bag with the
outline of a gun in diamantes can not be used to kill. Whilst the incident didn’t quite end with
an arrest, she was detained and missed her flight after being told she’d committed
a federal offense for carrying the replica of a gun with her. A slightly extreme overreaction. With such extensive security checks and unwarranted
concern for just about anything, many people find themselves longing to break the tension
by telling a joke. Ever felt tempted to make a pun about having
ten grams of cocaine or a bomb in your baggage to ease the tension when going through security? You might have wondered if there would really
be any consequences, given you were obviously just being sarcastic. Well, the answer is yes. Yes, there will. American football player Trevor Davis was
arrested in a Los Angeles airport for just that – he allegedly asked his companion
if she’d packed the explosives when the officer asked him what he had in his luggage. Top quality banter. Until he was arrested for making a misdemeanor
threat. One thing that I personally have never felt
an urge to do is pretend to be an air attendant whilst on the plane. To be fair, I can see the attraction – it
does sound kind of fun, and long-haul flights can get boring. Still, I wouldn’t recommend it. A few free-spirited passengers have given
this stunt a go in the past, and the whole thing has ended in tears – or rather, their
arrest. As you might expect, they were all under the
influence of alcohol. Unfortunately, being a lawful citizen whilst
trotting across the globe isn’t as simple as memorizing a few easy rules about what
you can and can’t do in airports. Each country has its own rulebook, and some
stick to them more dogmatically than others. Dubai has become a holiday destination of
choice thanks to its dramatic skylines, ideal climate, and amazing beaches. But if you plan on visiting, you might want
to read up on the local rules before landing. In 2015, two tourists were arrested for noting
down the names of aircraft in Fujairah Airport of the United Arab Emirates. Officials believed they were guilty of spying,
but they were actually just keen plane spotters. If you ask me, that’s just as much of a
crime. The men had been wandering around to look
for old and rare aircraft in the vicinity, and wrote down the names of some of the gems
they found so they could remember them forever. Nothing remotely suspicious about that, right? They also had cameras with them, and although
they didn’t actually take any photos of the planes, security believed otherwise. A spokesperson from Dubai Airport confirmed
after the ordeal that visitors can only take photos of aircraft in the airport if approval
is granted first, and the reason for filming must be given. You also can’t take photos of some government
buildings, military installations, or people, or post photos online that criticize the region
or the airport. All these things have definitely been done
numerous times with no consequences, but if you want to be really safe, just steer clear
of photos and social media whilst you’re there. Singapore is notorious for its many laws,
which range from the arbitrary to the terrifying, and you could be subjected to many of them
before you even enter the country. The nation’s Changi Airport is one of the
most impressive in the world, with entire cinemas and green areas inside – so nice,
in fact, that many people want to get in despite having no intention of actually taking a flight. Singapore faced many people entering the transit
area of the airport to either say farewell to their loved ones at the very last minute,
to make the most of the shopping opportunities, or even to harass celebrities they’ve heard
are there. So many people, in fact, that local police
officers started to threaten visitors with a hefty fine and two years in prison. That’s got to sting when you’ve already
forked out the cash on a ticket you never intended to use. It’s no little-known fact that entering
an airport high or drunk is a pretty stupid idea, wherever you are in the world, but you
definitely don’t want to do it in Singapore. As soon as you enter the airport, you stand
a chance of being randomly selected for a drug test by the authorities. Even if you consumed the drugs in a different
country, you could still be arrested. And you definitely don’t want to have a
run-in with the law in this country, where caning is still commonplace. Also, it won’t quite land you a jail sentence,
but you could land yourself a steep fine of $150 for nothing more than failing to flush
the toilet whilst you’re there. Mind you, I’m not sure how anyone would
ever find out unless the person who went in after you grassed on you. Then there’s North Korea. You might expect this unusual country to have
some strange laws when it comes to airports, and you wouldn’t be disappointed. Whilst not as popular a tourist destination
as its southern neighbor, you might be surprised to know that tourism is on the rise in North
Korea. If you truly want to outdo the edgy and daring
vacation spots of your friends, you might be tempted to go. But if you’re American, it’s probably
not a good idea to pay a visit – you could get arrested just for your nationality. The US and North Korea have had beef for a
while now, and various tourists have been arrested there for no apparent reason, leading
to the conclusion their only crime was being American. As far as absurd or arbitrary reasons for
getting arrested go, that’s got to be pretty up there. You also can’t call the country North Korea
whilst you’re there, which I imagine could be quite easy to slip up on. Instead, try the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea, or DPRK. And, similarly to the UAE, there’s no taking
pictures of planes, or pretty much anything there that isn’t their own propaganda. You really have to be on your guard the second
you step out of that plane. The US has some unique rules for airports
too, especially concerning lasers. Those keyrings that have lasers built in are
fun, right? Pointing them at your friends, cars, signs…
hours of fun. But whatever you do, don’t point them at
an airplane, unless you fancy being under home arrest for two months and two years of
probation. That’s exactly what happened to American
Michael Brandon Smith, who was bored and trying to entertain himself in his garden with his
mini laser – we’ve all been there – when he had the genius idea of seeing whether he
could strike a helicopter flying over with his laser. Innocent experiment, right? Wrong. That’s because the lasers might not look
like much from the ground, but the light can be thrown all the way up to an airplane and
is amplified further by the Plexiglass window. Instead of seeing a dull flash, the pilot
is met with an overwhelming explosion of neon that prevents them from seeing anything else,
and becomes disorientated. This can cause serious accidents or even result
in a crash. Yet people keep on doing it – in 2013, there
were thousands of cases in the US. In 2014, a man landed 14 years in jail for
using a particularly strong laser. In the case of Michael Smith, the helicopter
he pointed his laser at turned out to be a police helicopter on its way to help out with
a burglary call – the emergency had to be abandoned thanks to the mayhem caused by the
laser light. But luckily it was just consumer grade and
not commercial grade like the one of the man jailed for fourteen years, so the FBI looked
upon it more favorably. So next time you’re packing for the airport,
leave your laser at home. To be honest, if you’re packing your mini
laser with you when you travel for some holiday entertainment, you might want to reevaluate
your life anyway. There are some rules applicable to airports
in pretty much every country – one of them is to ensure your passport remains complete
and in good condition. It might not sound like a big deal, but having
your passport ruined in even the slightest way has the potential to be disastrous. One British woman was detained in the Maldives
after officials found that two pages were missing from her passport, and faced spending
months in an immigration detention center. Exactly how she managed to lose the pages
is still unknown. Other problems can also cause an issue, such
as ink spillage, water damage, a hole punch, indecipherable personal details, or discoloration
of the bio-data page. There are also some more general rules that,
whilst they may not get you arrested, they could certainly land you in some trouble. We all know that you need to match your passport
picture to be able to pass through security, and this has caused trouble to some people
who have dramatically changed their look. If you just dye your hair or try out a new
shade of lipstick, you’ll most likely be fine – but if you go as far as taking out
multiple plastic surgery procedures, it could be a different story. Three Chinese women traveled to South Korea
for plastic surgery, but found they couldn’t return because their faces had been altered
so dramatically, the border force couldn’t be sure they were who they claimed to be. Now, that’s got to be embarrassing. You should also refrain from patting sniffer
dogs, no matter how cute and fluffy they look. Arrests due to this aren’t common, but you
don’t want to push your luck. There are also some individual airlines who
have slightly, well, unusual, requests to make of their passengers. American Airlines say they won’t carry passengers
who have an offensive odor. Whilst you won’t get arrested for being
stinky, you could get pulled from an airplane or refused to board it in the first place. Hawaiian Airlines don’t let people on board
if they’re perceived to have unacceptable hairstyles. Which would be fair enough – if they were
a Catholic school or a corporate boss rather than a company that carries people for recreational
visits. The so-called offensive hairstyles include
extreme colors, dreadlocks, Mohawks, and even top-knots – so, I’m guessing no man buns. If you watched this video and felt like you
could be one of those people who gets arrested at an airport for a silly reason, you might
want to take some further precautions. Check out our videos about dumb reasons people
are arrested and put in jail, or the man who ended up in prison after refusing to reveal
his identity. Whichever you pick, click now!
