Assaults, rows and coin tosses: airlines miss true scale of air rage as millions fly for first time

Airlines worldwide are likely to have “significantly underestimated” the true scale of air rage, as the incidents of unruly behaviour by first-time travellers are probably being underreported in China and the rest of Asia, according to the global aviation industry guild.

Unruly behaviour declined 9.8 per cent last year to 9,837 reported cases, ranging from verbal spats to tampering with aircraft equipment, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA). However, the number of physical attacks rose by 1 percentage point to 12 per cent, according to the data by IATA, which represents 275 airlines with 83 per cent of global air traffic.