German passenger arrested for masturbating during Swiss Air flight: Report

A 33-year-old German man was arrested for allegedly masturbating in front of fellow passengers on a Swiss Air flight from Switzerland’s Zurich to Dresden in Germany.

According to a report by the Swiss-German news website Blick, the incident occurred at around 7:40 am on Swiss Air flight LX918. A shocked passenger approached a flight attendant and asked for a different seat.

According to the Dresden Federal Police statement, after several requests by the flight crew, the man “removed his hand from his pants”.

The airline told Blick,”A passenger engaged in intimate acts during the flight, whereupon the crew issued a warning.” After landing, the passenger was handed over to the relevant authorities.”

According to the Dresden Federal Police report, the suspect admitted that the suspected passenger admitted to have “been active” in the presence of two women on the flight.

The passenger claimed that he was not aware of any wrongdoing, as he claimed “he did not expose his genitals.”

An investigation has been initiated against the German passenger for “causing a public nuisance,” the Blick report added.

2024: Indian man caught masturbating on flight

In October last year, US authorities arrested an Indian man for masturbating on a flight.

According to a statement by the US justice department, 39-year-old Krishna Kunapuli pleaded guilty on October 24, 2024 to “one count of committing lewd, indecent, or obscene acts on an aircraft”.

He was sentenced by US Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy to two years of probation and a $5,000 fine.

Kunapuli was also ordered to delete, in the presence of law enforcement, photographs that he took of a female passenger during the flight and to have no contact with her, the US Justice Department added.

“Kunapuli made unwanted sexual advances towards a female passenger on board a flight from Abu Dhabi to Boston, including touching her hair and taking pictures of her without her permission. After a crew member intervened, Kunapuli returned to his seat,” the statement read.