Many people traveled far and wide in 2024. For many, the memories began during their journey aboard one of the thousands of flights that crisscrossed the globe each day. 

As 2024 wraps up, here is a roundup of some of the craziest airline stories of the last year.  

Faulty door 

An incident that quickly went viral occurred on Jan. 5 when the plug door panel, which covers an extra emergency exit that is only operable on planes with the maximum capacity, on an Alaska Airlines flight blew off at 16,000 feet.

The aircraft was departing Portland, Ore., and the panel caused the depressurization of the cabin. Pilots returned the plane safely to Portland with no serious injuries reported. 

Unruly passenger

A few days into 2024, an irate passenger allegedly punched a flight attendant before he was escorted off the plane. 

American Airlines flight 1497 from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport in Montana on Jan. 3 was diverted mid-trip due to an unruly passenger.

The plane was forced to divert to Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport in Texas after Keith Edward Fagiana repeatedly punched a flight attendant. The incident began after another passenger complained that Fagiana was kicking his chair, according to authorities.

After a flight attendant became involved, Fagiana allegedly became enraged and began punching the American Air Lines employee in the stomach.

J.P. Gallagher, an elected official from Montana, told FOX 4 that his wife alerted him to the enraged voyager.

“My wife kind of started hitting me and saying, you know, getting me to pay attention that something was happening,” Gallagher said. “There was a drink cart between us and the incident. So I couldn’t see a lot of what was going on, but I could hear some yelling and some, you know, cussing and, you know, the flight attendant saying, stop it.”

Fox News Digital’s Madeline Coggins, Bailee Hill, Ashley J. DiMella and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.