Flying fists in turbulent skies

Passengers behaving badly are nothing new in Russia's skies. From thwarted Romeos to stroppy stewards, it seems that almost anything can take off into a full-blown fight.
A rejected lover started an in-flight fracas - and ended up footing a $30,000 bill when his 2007 trip from St. Petersburg to Turkey was forced to return to Pulkovo airport.
The man began flirting with a female fellow passenger, but when the would-be Cupid had his wings clipped he reportedly punched her in the face, prompting a brawl with her companion.
Cabin crew was unable to restrain the pair and the plane returned to St. Petersburg. Last week a court ruled that the grounded lover should pay Rossiya airline's 290,000-rouble costs.
In another recent incident, British-based Russian artist Galina Rusanova, admitted attempting to bite cabin crew on a trans-Atlantic flight after downing a mix of in-flight drinks, prescription drugs and liquid soap from the bathroom. She was jailed for 22 days by a US court this week.
Late last year police were waiting on the tarmac at Yekaterinburg's Koltsovo airport to apprehend drunken passengers who had begun fighting on a flight from Thailand. Sometimes the roles are reversed, though. A passenger on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Nizhnevartovsk in July 2004 was beaten up by flight attendants after complaining about poor on-board service.