To be fair, if I had had a few drinks and sat next to that freak in the hoodie I may have thought he was a lizard too.
Re Airplane lady:
I am thinking it was the Freemasonry aspect of his persona that freaked her. Maybe she goaded him and, in his anger, he showed her something frightening.
Double-lidded eyes?
Satanic red eyes?
Or maybe she’s perceptive/awake enough to sense evil?
I agree she’d had a few drinks/meds but maybe that’s why she confronted him.