Man banned from airline over blow-up farts at 35,000 feet
There are tons of bad ideas you can get on a plane. Fighting for armrests. Bare feet on common surfaces. Playing TikToks or FaceTiming on speaker. Add this one to the list: fake a series of increasingly aggressive farts at 35,000 feet and film the reaction for content.
Colombian influencer Yeferson Cossio, who has more than 12.5 million Instagram followers, is now facing actual consequences after allegedly using a fart machine on an Avianca flight from Bogotá to Madrid. The device reportedly produced both sound and smell, which is a seriously unnecessary level of commitment to the bit. According to several reports, the goal was to capture the reactions of other passengers. Mission accomplished, just not in the way he probably hoped.
Avianca didn’t find it funny. At all. In a statement shared by Mirrorthe airline said it “categorically rejects any behavior that jeopardizes the safety of its operations and compromises the onboard experience for customers and service personnel.” This phrase “compromises the onboard experience” does a lot of work here. It covers everything from mild irritation to full sensory assault in a sealed metal tube over the Atlantic Ocean.
The Wild Story of the Man Who Was Banned from an Airline for Farting Mid-Flight
That’s the part that got him in trouble. The prank reportedly happened during a stretch of the flight where an emergency landing wasn’t really an option. Airlines take anything involving unfamiliar smells seriously, for obvious reasons. A fake fart might sound like junior high school humor, but in a pressure cabin with recirculated air, no one would know immediately. You’re not just ugly. You are creating confusion in a place where confusion is the last thing anyone wants.
At least one passenger was reportedly “deeply offended,” which is fair enough. There is something particularly miserable about being trapped in the air while someone next to you stages a fake gas attack for internet points.
Cossio hasn’t released the footage, which might be the smartest move in this whole situation. Avianca has already banned him from a return flight and is reportedly pursuing legal action, citing policies surrounding conduct affecting safety, comfort and order on board.
This isn’t his first headline either. He previously spent around $175,000 on leg lengthening surgery, documenting the pain in detail, describing it as the most painful procedure imaginable. This raises a fair question about thresholds. At what point does the pursuit of content stop feeling worthwhile?
Airplanes are already a social experiment in patience. No one wants to be there longer than necessary and everyone negotiates personal space, noise and basic tolerance. The bar for acceptable behavior is not that high. Yet here we are debating whether fake farting qualifies as a legal matter.
It obviously can.
