Conrad Clifford, the deputy general manager of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), spoke at the organization’s general assembly about the fact that in 2021 such an event reached 835 flights, compared to every 568 last year.
The three most common forms of such cases
- behavior that does not comply with staff instructions or rules,
- verbal abuse,
- and behavior typical of drunkenness.
These cases are most often due to smoking (including e-cigarettes) in the passenger compartment or lavatories, failure to fasten seat belts, failure to comply with the rules regarding hand luggage or its placement, or consumption of one’s own alcohol on board.
Although incidents involving physical abuse are fortunately extremely rare, their number has also increased dramatically, with 61 percent more incidents occurring last year than the previous year.
The industry applies zero tolerance to disruptive behavior, and IATA would reduce the occurrence of such cases along a two-pillar strategy. First of all, countries should have adequate powers and enforcement measures according to the severity of the incident to prosecute disruptive passengers, regardless of their nationality.
The second pillar of the strategy is for airlines to be able to prevent incidents more effectively through cooperation with industry partners, drawing passengers’ attention to the consequences of disruptive behavior either at airports or on social media.
Cover image: Getty Images
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