Cape Town - “Unruly” passengers on aircraft are on the rise.
This is according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which released its data that showed there was one unruly incident reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one per 835 flights in 2021.
The data was collated from more than 20 000 reports submitted by about 40 airlines.
Although non-compliance incidents initially fell after the Covid-19 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 most common categorisations of incidents in 2022 were non-compliance, verbal abuse and intoxication.
Physical abuse incidents remained rare, but these had an alarming increase of 61% over 2021, occurring once every 17 200 flights.
The most common examples of non-compliance were smoking of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vapes and puff devices in the cabin or lavatories and failure to fasten seatbelts when instructed.
Exceeding the carry-on baggage allowance or failing to store baggage when required and consumption of own alcohol on board were also among the top offences.
“The increasing trend of unruly passenger incidents is worrying.
“Passengers and crew are entitled to a safe and hassle-free experience on board,” said IATA’s deputy director general, Conrad Clifford.
“For that, 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.
“No one wants to stop people having a good time when they go on holiday — but we all have a responsibility to behave with respect for other passengers and the crew.”
He said they were looking at measures to curb the behaviour and make it clear that passengers could be prosecuted.
Cape Times