A German resident of Turkish descent was arrested upon landing on a flight from Turkey to Germany, after he refused to sit next to a female seat mate, only to then punch the flight attendant when she tried to help with the situation. The guy then proceeded to insult police officers in Turkish, leading to even more charges… talk about awful behavior.
In this post:
Passenger causes commotion on Turkey to Germany flight
German media is reporting on an incident that happened on June 1, 2026, on a flight from Samsun, Turkey (SZF), to Dusseldorf, Germany (DUS). This happened on a SunExpress flight, with that being a leisure airline that’s a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines.
According to reports, the 29-year-old man ended up in a situation where he was sitting next to a female, which he wasn’t comfortable with, claiming it was in violation of Sharia law. When the flight attendant confronted him, he reportedly punched her in the face.
German Federal Police were called to the airport in Dusseldorf shortly before 7AM, to take a report of the assault. A criminal complaint was subsequently filed. The passenger confessed to the crime, though the conversation didn’t go smoothly.
The man reportedly insulted the police officers in Turkish, thinking they wouldn’t understand. However, since one of the officers spoke Turkish, the man received an additional charge of insult, beyond his charge of assault.
One detail that’s not known is the context in which he ended up sitting next to a woman. Like, how did this incident only happen while the plane was in the air, and not on the ground in Turkey, before departure, since presumably he would’ve been offloaded at that point?
This situation is obviously terrible on all levels
Even as someone who isn’t really religious, I think people are entitled to there sincerely held religious beliefs. However, if your religious beliefs impact the ability of others to go about their day, I think it’s on the person with the religious beliefs to make accommodations, rather than putting that burden on others.
On the topic of Sharia law, as you’d expect, different people have different interpretations. The idea is that direct contact and interaction with the opposite gender (if not related by blood, marriage, etc.) is only allowed for necessity. I guess the idea here is that if you’re sitting next to someone on a plane you could accidentally touch, and that was presumably an issue for him.
Now, let me point out that not all people with that general belief system interpret things that way, and many will view it as being fine to sit next to someone of the opposite gender on a plane. If this is really how the guy felt, he should’ve purchased an extra seat (which SunExpress allows) to prevent any potential touch.
Of course the irony here is that he was so concerned about inadvertently making contact with a female, only to then… slap a female, which I’m pretty sure would qualify as direct contact.
Then the icing on the cake here is that he insulted the police officers, which is a criminal offense in Germany, and it can even lead to imprisonment. Ouch all around…
Bottom line
A passenger on a SunExpress flight had quite the meltdown, when he first refused to sit next to a woman, only to then punch the flight attendant when she tried to intervene. When the flight was met by police in Germany, he then insulted the officers, which is also a crime in Germany.
While I respect sincerely held religious beliefs, this guy was 100% in the wrong on all counts here, and I imagine he’ll be held accountable for his behavior.
What do you make of this flight seating incident?
I’m with you Ben, how did this plane ever get in the air if passengers are supposed to be seated before departure? Ouch!
And then people wonder how TRUMP won. Get these people out of our society. They have no business coming to our countries
Religious beliefs deserve respect, but violence is never acceptable. Personal convictions shouldn't come at the expense of others' safety.
"When the flight was met by police in Germany, he then insulted the officers, which is also a crime in Germany."
Say what now???
Guess a decision has made to traffic in these types of articles to get clicks. Unfortunate because I appreciate the travel content but have no interest in coming here if this is the type of content that is going to become a daily driver. Just looking at the types of comments an article like this generates reminds me why I stopped visiting Leff's website. Looks like I may have to do that here as well...
Guess a decision has made to traffic in these types of articles to get clicks. Unfortunate because I appreciate the travel content but have no interest in coming here if this is the type of content that is going to become a daily driver. Just looking at the types of comments an article like this generates reminds me why I stopped visiting Leff's website. Looks like I may have to do that here as well if this keeps up. Can't seriously argue this is serious travel news. It's inflammatory clickbait that just further divides people.
Sharia law does NOT forbid men and women sitting next to each other, not in planes and not in public. Besides, Sharia law exists in neither Turkey nor Germany and even in Sharia compliant countries like Saudi Arabia, aircraft passengers of both genders sit together all the time.
ICE will quickly sort this bone head out.
Ben, anyone who knows my stuff would know, ^this comment (July 20, 2026, 7:20 am) was not by me. Can't literally stop folks from impersonating others, but, I will call it out when I see it.
I'm the real 1990.
"how did this incident only happen while the plane was in the air, and not on the ground in Turkey, before departure"
It's obvious. He knew that if he'd raised a commotion while on the ground he'd have had the Turkish police at IST come aboard and deplane him, and he'd then have had considerably harsher treatment than whatever awaited him in soft touch Germany.
That is why he waited until he was midflight before acting like a neanderthal.
Free Palestine!
They had almost twenty years of self-governance, and it was an abject failure. They're incapable of governing themselves. The kindest thing for Gaza would be to nuke it into dust, and bulldoze the dust into the Mediterranean.
Dickhead comment, Pete. You're better than this.
@Syd what does your comment have to do with the article? I saw mention of Turkey, and Germany, and Sharia law, but no mention of Palestine or Israel or anything related to that area.
When this happened is important. Did this happen upon boarding or as the article suggests while the plane was in the air?.....If he was really worried about it it would have happened while the plane was on the ground.
"Of course the irony here is that he was so concerned about inadvertently making contact with a female ..."
You know this for sure, do you? Or did you think, why ruin a story with the facts? Very poor writing.
Germany is an awful country.
I see many suggestions here about stripping German citizenship from that savage. We don't even know for a fact that he has it. Germany doesn't follow jus soli principal, so domestically born Turks aren't necessary German citizens, just permanent residents. However, they all jave Turkish citizenship through their parents. So how about starting this discussion with a legal status verification. Ben, since you're German, can you reach out to your German contacts in Grenz Polizei,...
I see many suggestions here about stripping German citizenship from that savage. We don't even know for a fact that he has it. Germany doesn't follow jus soli principal, so domestically born Turks aren't necessary German citizens, just permanent residents. However, they all jave Turkish citizenship through their parents. So how about starting this discussion with a legal status verification. Ben, since you're German, can you reach out to your German contacts in Grenz Polizei, so we can discuss it better.
Ben is not German.
Well I mean…. Seems pretty German to me… an intolerant man spouting rubbish and condemning others including women. Isn’t that literally the past hundred years of German existence?
stupid law. that's what religion often does to people. make them stupid and intolerant. no one should put up with this crap. kick him back to turkey after jailing him.
Julia- what did I say that was “inaccurate “???
Pretty much everything.
“Everything “ what???.
You don’t understand the meaning of the word?
I have been on thousands of flights with Muslim passengers, including many flights to and from countries with the biggest Muslim populations. I have never seen a fuss made by a Muslim man because he refused to be seated next to a “random” female passenger because the passenger was female.
If they don’t want to be seated next to an unrelated woman or girl, they could book travel with a companion or two to...
I have been on thousands of flights with Muslim passengers, including many flights to and from countries with the biggest Muslim populations. I have never seen a fuss made by a Muslim man because he refused to be seated next to a “random” female passenger because the passenger was female.
If they don’t want to be seated next to an unrelated woman or girl, they could book travel with a companion or two to effectively avoid unrelated females being seated next to them. Same sort of thing some ultraorthodox types from other religions do too.
He should just book business class on window lie flat seats on a 1-2-1 configuration
What is German ICE called anyway? Geheime Stadts Polizei ? And what is the number to call ? I read here how everyone is constantly threatens to call ICE, but what is the number? Or do you just call 911 ?
Cool. Clearcut case.
This caveman is to be stripped of German citizenship immediately, banned from ever entering a civilized country again, and put on a no-fly list for the entire EU.
These animals deserve zero respect, no second chances, none. Let them rot in the hellholes they come from.
You seem eager to deny people due process and to cheer on doing the Nazi thing of stripping “the other” of citizenship.
You can't "strip people of citizenship", that's the point of citizenship.
If they got it by fraud or deceit they sure can in the US.
First rule: You do not talk about Sharia.
Second rule: You DO NOT talk about Sharia!
Third rule: If someone yells "stop!", goes limp, or taps out, the fight is over.
Fourth rule: Only two guys to a fight.
Fifth rule: One mile at a time.
Sixth rule: No shirts, no shoes, no weapons.
Seventh rule: Fights will go on as long as they have to.
Eighth rule: If this is your first night at Sharia Fight Club, you have to fight.
A nonviolent situation that went to court:
EasyJet pays compensation to woman asked to move by ultra-Orthodox Jewish men
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/10/easyjet-pays-compensation-to-woman-asked-to-move-by-ultra-orthodox-jewish-men
I think we're only allowed to bash Muslims here, congrats on getting that comment through.
Liberal policies is to blame. If you don’t think this would never happen here- you are sadly mistaken.
Rashida Tlaib
Ilhan Omar
Lateefah Simon
Ghazala Hashmi
Zohran K. Mamdani
Yusef Salaam
And this is just off the top of my head.
Yes Ben, you've unleashed the hordes. Congrats.
Dave ... Yep . And all of the others with weird names vote for the weird names and ideas . England has the same problem . Yet Japan does not have this problem . Wonder why ?
Stupid and inaccurate comment, Dave s.
and all of those are still 100% better than pedophiles, rapists and pedophile lovers and apologists.
What head?
Now, let me point out that not all people with that general belief system interpret things that way.
Maybe. Now let me point out that noone in Europe want these kind of people allowed in the country, in the first place.
Well Ben, congratulations on your article. By bringing up an isolated incident on a plane, you've managed to engage some pretty vile people. I guess whatever drives engagement...
Isolated incident?
How many thousands of Muslim passengers few that day without incident. And the day before. Having lived and worked in the Middle East for years, having flown to and stayed in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Turkey and others ... I can tell you this is an isolated even that rarely happens on planes. I can also find planes disrupted by unruly passengers in the US and you can find all sorts of reasons to...
How many thousands of Muslim passengers few that day without incident. And the day before. Having lived and worked in the Middle East for years, having flown to and stayed in Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Turkey and others ... I can tell you this is an isolated even that rarely happens on planes. I can also find planes disrupted by unruly passengers in the US and you can find all sorts of reasons to justify racism, sexism or whateverism based on their individual cases.
So yeah, this is only a story because it is an isolated incident. And the passenger was probably mentally ill.
Absolutely not isolated.
This is how hundreds of millions of people think. It's a caveman belief system.
One of us has flown on way more flights with way more Muslims as passengers than the others, and it is not you.
And yet I have never seen such an indecent on any of my flights even to and from Muslim-majority locations.
How many other cases have you recorded this year of incidents like this, Robbie?
That Islamo-fascist should be deported from Germany for uncivilized behavior like that. Someone just need to call German ICE. As to immediately mitigate that behavior, he should of been slapped on the mouth with a pork sausage. There are plenty of them on German planes
And in Texas, many women believe the government to also be fascist based on reproductive laws that deny them the right to terminate a pregnancy that isn't even viable. It's so easy to rant and rave about the things we don't like about other cultures without an honest look at our own. That's why I think this article is click bait of the worst sort. I demonizes an entire group of people based on this...
And in Texas, many women believe the government to also be fascist based on reproductive laws that deny them the right to terminate a pregnancy that isn't even viable. It's so easy to rant and rave about the things we don't like about other cultures without an honest look at our own. That's why I think this article is click bait of the worst sort. I demonizes an entire group of people based on this one guy who probably is mentall ill, ignoring the thousands of them that flew without incident.
Bubba, I completely agree with you on the Texas situation. Those yokels are no better than islamo-fascists. Both need to be excluded from a civilized society, which should not be adjusted for them. You never hear about enlightened westerners going to Muslim countries and demanding alcohol, pork, and brothels. When in Rome, do as romans do.
The alcohol and prostitutes thing seems to be pretty popular with ethnic European adult male visitors to Dubai.
I wonder how many of these comments are by the same person posting under different names.
Move the female elsewhere .
Oh absolutely NOT! She has every right to sit wherever the hell she wants.
We do not kowtow to animals!
Meanwhile ... thousands and thousands of Muslims travelled that same day and were polite, normal passengers. BECAUSE the problem here was not the religious beliefs, it was a mentally ill passenger.
If this is indeed mental illness, then there is a significantly smaller proportion of mental illness in all other religions
This is literally what Islam teaches, though! They have zero respect for women, she is literally just above a dog, according to these "teachings"!
Yet Christian priests and clergy are pedos and women aren’t even allowed to lead church. Very progressive does Christianity seem.
I would like to read Alert’s take on this, specifically how it relates to “girl food,” if a 300 pound man would make a difference in the story, and which racial slurs he would like to use to describe any one (all?) of the principals in this story. All wrapped up in a barely readable, un-punctuated, stream of consciousness, babble paragraph.
Glad you are a fan . My take was to move the female to a better seat , away from the boor . Then bring her some girl food .
These guys come from extremely anti-woman societies. Europe thinks a hug and a free passport will make them change their minds
Speaking of 'anti woman societies' do you know how many followers the Tate brothers have here in the US? We aren't that special, we have plenty of misogynists in the US as well.
The US has a misogynistic pedophile rapist as President because the American majority was fine with him being elected President yet again.
More non-“white” Muslims have voted in support of having female heads of government and/or state than “white” Americans, Canadians and Australians.
And once again we see religion's great values and contributions to society.
From orthodox jews, to muslims, to radical christians, all showing their peaceful nature and above all, respect for women.
Don't understand why they hate each other so much, when deep inside they're so alike. I guess it just boils down to one detail - "sorry buster, you follow the wrong cult leader".
I knew some idiot would bring Orthodox Jews into this post. There have been posts about Jews asking others if they would switch seats, there never was a post about violence. (By the way, Jews are to avoid contact with non married women to avoid issues. This can be very pertinent today when accusations are considered as fact.)
Any discussion involving a comparison of differing ethnic groups and their contributions to society will not show Jews in a deficit.
If you want to have a discussion about Orthodox Jews and violence, we certainly can. You might start by googling 'settler violence.'
Calling the OP an 'idiot' only shows a lack of clarity on how any religion can be used to justify awful behavior.
Bubba, get the real facts. The press labels things as settler violence, often obscuring facts. This would include facts like a shepherd being rendered unconscious and his charges wander uncontrolled. In that case it was a miracle someone realized the sheep were loose and found the settler shepherd unconscious. There are almost nightly incidents like this. Once the press takes sides you might be in the right but on the losing side of PR.
The...
Bubba, get the real facts. The press labels things as settler violence, often obscuring facts. This would include facts like a shepherd being rendered unconscious and his charges wander uncontrolled. In that case it was a miracle someone realized the sheep were loose and found the settler shepherd unconscious. There are almost nightly incidents like this. Once the press takes sides you might be in the right but on the losing side of PR.
The original post was about a person becoming violent because of the sex of the seatmate. It is amazing that you found the need to twist this into an issue with alleged settler violence unrelated to the post.
You simply have an issue with Jews and twist every story into your flavor of anti Jewish hatred.
So, shall I commend the OP for turning a story about a Moslem passenger misbehaving into a Jewish issue?
This is the EU - He's both a middle easterner and a muslim. He'll be given a stern talking to then released unharmed, back into the German streets to continue his contributions to German society.
Turks aren’t Middle Easterners.
Most Turks living in the EU don’t even go to a mosque more than 3 times a year if even that, and some German-Turkish nationals are even Jewish.
How is slapping the female FA ok if his religion doesn’t allow him to touch women? He should be punished according to his own belief system, which will likely be far more severe than anything German law permits.
These people should migrate to Iran, Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, rather than to democratic and free countries.
Insulting a police officer in Germany is not punished harsher than any other insult. (Insulting the baker is also not allowed!), so the sentence in this article is misleading.
Insulting a police officer in Germany is not punished harsher than any other insult. (Insulting the baker is also not allowed!), so the sentence in this article is misleading.
All religion is FKD BS. Grow up.
Agree its the cause of so many world issues, and its all made up crap !
If the flight were instead going from Germany to Turkey, he likely would’ve been met with a celebratory parade upon arrival… /s (I’ve got my bones to pick with Erdogan, but, yeesh, I really hope that’s not actually the case.)
Also, how can one be so young, 29, allegedly, yet act as if they are from a bygone era where any of this blatant misogyny and violence against women was ‘the norm.’ Oh, wait, never-mind, in NO era is/was this ok.
Sadly, a lot of immigrants get caught up in social bubbles that have limited interaction with the societies they live in and at the same time are out of sync with what's happening in their country of origin.
My upper-middle class Pakistani friend (who grew up in Karachi and spent many years in the West) speaks with disdain about the Mirpuris in England, claiming they're all stuck in the 1960s when their grandparents moved....
Sadly, a lot of immigrants get caught up in social bubbles that have limited interaction with the societies they live in and at the same time are out of sync with what's happening in their country of origin.
My upper-middle class Pakistani friend (who grew up in Karachi and spent many years in the West) speaks with disdain about the Mirpuris in England, claiming they're all stuck in the 1960s when their grandparents moved. Similarly, during a long visit to Melbourne I came across some shockingly outdated attitudes amongst people of Greek, Italian, and ex-Yugoslavian origin who had been born and raised in Australia. I have no doubt that similar stuff is happening in certain Turkish communities in Germany, and things aren't helped by Turkey becoming less secular than it used to be 20-30 years ago.
That's a real shame. *sigh*
He should lose two things:
- his right to fly
- German citizenship. Pretty sure he does consider himself a Turk and has an additional Turkish passport anyway.
Sadly, suffering the consequences of your decisions isn't really a thing for minorities in Europe at the moment.
I guess he will be on a no-fly list with SunExpress, MAYBE even at LH/TK. Everything else will definitely not happen.
He should be black listed from flying and hopefully flight attendant gets to slap him couple times so he can get a taste of his own medicine. Since he broke Sharia law by touching the female flight attendant, he should be punished in accordance to Sharia law as well. ;)
The behaviour by the passenger is absolutely deplorable. He deserves punishment.
The ask, however, is common especially when flying out of the Gulf. I have to visit Dubai and Abu Dhabi frequently, and this is a common ask by orthodox female travellers in business and economy. It takes time but can generally be sorted due to the kindness of strangers.
I don’t understand why this wasn’t sorted during check in?
BecaUse religion is awful. It’s all about hate. And these people has simply stop flying. Full stop.
This man should consider immigrating to a country that lives by Sharia law. Neither departure or arrival country have anything to do with it.
LOL have you ever been to Turkey? This is their belief system!!
Except they don’t have Sharia in Turkey, Robbie. Guess we know who has never been to Turkey…
My guess is you would turn pale and perhaps even faint because of where the blood in your body would suddenly flow if seeing a bunch of high-flying Turkish women in bikinis lounging around at Turkish beach hotels and the pools.
Have you seen what passes for “sharia” at Turkish resort area beaches and pools populated by wealthy Turks? There definitely is no shortage of Turkish women in bikinis at them. ;)