Bad behaviour: A man who opened an emergency exit door (below) of an Asiana Airlines plane mid-flight arrives to attend an arrest warrant review at the Daegu District Court in Daegu, South Korea. The plane landed safely. — AP
ISTANBUL: Countries should take necessary measures to prosecute unruly passengers under the Montreal Protocol 2014 (MP14), says the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The latest figures showed that there was one unruly incident reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one per 835 flights in 2021. The most common infringements in 2022 were non-compliance, verbal abuse and intoxication, IATA said.
It added that physical abuse incidents remained very rare, but they had an alarming increase of 61% in 2021, occurring once every 17,200 flights.
The increasing trend of unruly passenger incidents was a worry and passengers and crew were entitled to a safe and hassle-free experience on board, said IATA deputy director-general Conrad Clifford.
“Passengers must comply with crew instructions. While our professional crews are well-trained to manage unruly passenger scenarios, it is unacceptable that rules in place for everyone’s safety are disobeyed by a small but persistent minority of passengers.
“There is no excuse for not following the instructions of the crew,” he said in a statement, Bernama reported.
IATA said although non-compliance incidents initially fell after the mask mandates were removed on most flights, the frequency began to rise again throughout 2022 and ended the year some 37% up on 2021.
The more common examples of non-compliance included smoking in the cabin or lavatories as well as failure to fasten seatbelts when instructed.
Clifford noted that governments and the industry were taking more serious measures to prevent unruly passenger incidents in the face of rising numbers.
Countries are ratifying MP14 and reviewing enforcement measures, sending a clear message of deterrence by showing they are ready to prosecute unruly behaviour.
On the industry’s part, there is greater collaboration.
For example, as the vast majority of intoxication incidents occur from alcohol consumed prior to the flight, the support of airport bars and restaurants to ensure the responsible consumption of alcohol is particularly important.
