On Dec. 5, Korean Air Lines Co. flight KE086 was delayed when leaving John F. Kennedy International Airport bound for Incheon when a Korean Air executive went into a rage after being served macadamia nuts she had not requested, in a bag rather than on a plate. She forced the plane to return to the gate so that the head steward could be removed from the flight. Then last week four Chinese tourists went berserk on a Thai AirAsia flight from Bangkok to Nanjing after the airline was unable to seat them together. They threw noodles and hot water on a flight attendant and then threatened to bomb the plane.

The Korean Air executive involved in the nut rage incident was 30-year-old Heather Cho, daughter of Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho. The Cho family has controlled Korean Air since purchasing it in 1969. Heather Cho, head of in-flight service for the airline, is stepping down from all her posts in family-owned South Korean companies. She apologized for her behavior at a news conference last Friday. Her father has also apologized for what he called her “foolish act.”

Heather Cho is under investigation and faces possible charges for ordering the plane to return to the gate, delaying it by 11 minutes.  The incident also raises reminders of the power of heredity in businesses, and the power those family members hold. Once the plane is in motion the pilot has the ultimate authority, but Cho was able to use her high position in the company to intimidate the pilot into complying with her demands.

The second round of air rage on board an Asian flight occurred after four Chinese tourists, unhappy about not being able to sit together, continued to berate the cabin staff even after alternative seating was arranged. Another passenger uploaded a video in which the four passengers are seen standing in the aisle, shouting and gesturing and threatening to bomb the plane. A flight attendant was scalded with hot noodle soup and the plane eventually forced to return to Bangkok, where the passengers were asked to disembark.

Chinese people are gaining a reputation for unruly behavior as they travel more widely. Chinese authorities have been unsuccessfully urging them to act more civilly, with only limited effect. China’s tourism administration issued a statement on Saturday saying the four directly involved in the recent incident, along with the tour group leader, will be facing punishment, including the possibility that their personal credit records could suffer. They said that the tourists had “badly damaged the overall image of the Chinese people.”

Air rage incidents are becoming more common on all airlines. A survey by the International Air Transport Association showed that as many as 100 cases of unruly passengers occurred on 43 percent of airlines in a single year. While the noodle and nut incidents on the Asian airlines may be the most bizarre reported, others have been unusual.

Knee space is a common source of arguments, and a device known as the knee defender is causing increased conflict as it prevents the person in front from reclining. A United Airlines flight in August had to be diverted because of an argument that erupted over its use, and a week later an American Airlines flight also had to be rerouted due to a conflict over leg space. Seventy-two percent of readers polled by the Telegraph said they thought reclining seats should be banned.