This Campaign Is Calling for a Zero Tolerance Policy on Unruly Passengers
Jackie Reddy April 09, 2019
Unruly, aggressive behavior in the skies is nothing new. With these incidents significantly on the rise, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is partnering with a number of industry bodies to launch the “Not On My Flight” initiative to raise awareness of disruptive in-flight behavior.
Unruly behavior in the skies is nothing new, but these unpleasant incidents are noticeably on the rise, reports Business Insider. Information from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has revealed that, in 2017, one passenger on every 1,053 journeys became disruptive or aggressive.
Putting that figure into context, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), says that this equates to one flight disrupted by an aggressive passenger every three hours.
Looking at 2018, EASA has revealed that last year alone saw a 34% increase on the figures for 2017.
“These figures are worrying as they show an increasing trend. What is particularly disturbing is that these incidents have a direct impact on both the safety of crew and passengers. Even though the number of unruly passengers is small considering the total number of people flying, the impact of their actions can have a disproportionate effect both on the smooth operation of the flight and more importantly on its safety,” the body explained in a statement.
In an effort to combat disruptive behavior in the skies, EASA has partnered with other bodies across the aviation industry, including IATA, to introduce its “Not On My Flight” initiative. This campaign aims to raise awareness of how aggressive passengers can negatively impact on the experience of their fellow travelers.
As part of this campaign, EASA is engaging with the flying public in order to take a stance on this kind of disruptive behavior. It is asking them to share this video and use the Twitter hashtag #notonmyflight to show what it describes as “zero tolerance” for this kind of behavior.
In a statement, IATA explained that, due to loopholes in current legislation, many instances of disruptive behavior are not punished. According to Tim Colehan, IATA’s assistant director, external affairs, these kinds of incidents remain “a significant problem”.
In addition to shoring up the current legislation on disruptive passengers, IATA is, “…advocating for the wider use of civil and administrative penalties so that unruly passengers can be held to account for their misbehavior.”
[Image Source: Screenshot from EASA video]
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bad behavior has been getting worse in general these days. it needs to be curtailed everywhere especially on the airlines. the airlines should also review the policy of cramming people in planes like sardines and figure a way to be profitable yet, provide a civiized experience for all passengers.
On a flight from ICN to KIX a few years ago, a passenger in business had to be repeatedly told to fasten his belt and put his seat upright before take-off. He eventually complied after much argument with FA. He adamantly refused to comply when asked to do so on final approach; keeping his seat flat and shouting at FA in Korean. He kept his seat flat until we reached the gate. She was almost in tears but didn't call a pilot to speak to the jerk.
OK and how many times do cabin crew escalate issues? Happy to see this law passed if all cabin crew must go through DE-escalation training. I think its great that people on here want no alcohol because "every" incident on a flight they have ever seen involved alcohol. Well most of the convicts I've seen involve a lack of human decency from cabin staff which throws gas on the fire. Also, don't over serve.
This is one big cringey joke. And that cheesy campaign video might just INCREASE unruly passengers. There's no way to effectively punish these folks without int'l involvement, but the loopholes (aka excuses) will never go away. Just keep circulating air marshalls and done.
Perhaps if airlines (and TSA/related entities) treated passengers are human beings rather than livestock, you might find passengers will treat their staff with similar respect. /getting rid of bad flight attendants would be a good start.