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Unruly Passenger Incidents Rise by 16 Percent in 2015

One in 1,205 flights experienced an unruly passenger situation last year, an increase from 2014.

The skies in 2015 were not nearly as friendly as in 2014, as airlines reported more unruly passenger events affecting their flights. According to a recently released report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), 10,854 unruly passenger incidents were reported by airlines around the world, reflecting an increase of over 16 percent.

In 2014, unruly passengers were reported on one out of every 1,282 flights around the world. Last year, that number increased to one flight in every 1,205 flights experiencing a badly behaving passenger. Nearly one quarter of these events were attributed to drug or alcohol intoxication, while just over one in ten escalated to physical aggression towards the flight crew.

As a result of the increase in incidents, the IATA is calling on airports and airlines to work together to prevent unruly passenger incidents on the ground. Ideas for maintaining tranquility in the air include additional trainings on identifying intoxicated passengers and working with establishments that serve alcohol in airports to cut out over-serving.

“The increase in reported incidents tells us that more effective deterrents are needed,” Alexandre de Juniac, director general and CEO of IATA, said in a press release. “Airlines and airports are guided by core principles developed in 2014 to help prevent and manage such incidents. But we cannot do it alone.”

The IATA highlighted an initiative headlined by Monarch Airlines. Through proactive identification of potential problem passengers, the airline has been able to reduce events by 50 percent.

Over the last eight years, over 49,000 unruly passenger events have been reported by international airlines to the IATA. As a matter of policy, the trade organization working with partner organizations to limit the amount of events, as well as empower governments to prosecute those who disrupt flights.

[Photo: Creative Commons CC0]

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2 Comments
J
jprajesh October 2, 2016

I think it does. Sitting in a middle seat for anything longer than 45 minutes or so will drive you nuts especially if you are sitting next to somebody with an attitude.

H
horseymike September 29, 2016

I respect that the airlines safely transport millions of passengers on a daily basis. I totally disagree with their findings stating "the packed in like sardines effect " does not contribute bad behavior .