Air Rage On The Rise

(RTTNews) - Incidents of unruly passengers onboard aircraft have increased in 2015 from the previous year, showing that more effective deterrents are needed to tackle the problem, according to the International Air Transport Association or IATA.

The IATA said Wednesday that some 10,854 unruly passenger incidents were reported to the global airline trade group by airlines worldwide last year, up from 9,316 incidents reported in 2014. This equates to one incident for every 1,205 flights, compared to one incident for every 1,282 flights in the preceding year.

The majority of incidents involved verbal abuse, failure to follow lawful crew instructions and other forms of anti-social behavior. Eleven percent of reports indicated physical aggression towards passengers or crew, or damage to the aircraft.

Alcohol or drug intoxication was identified as another factor in 23 percent of cases. But in the vast majority of instances, alcohol was were consumed by passengers prior to boarding the aircraft or from their personal supply without knowledge of the crew.

The increase in reported incidents tells us that more effective deterrents are needed, the IATA noted.

"But we cannot do it alone. That's why we are encouraging more governments to ratify the Montreal Protocol 2014," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO.

Airlines also want more countries to ratify the Montreal Protocol 2014, which closes gaps in the international legal framework dealing with unruly passengers. To date, only six countries have ratified the Protocol.

IATA said it also supports initiatives, such as the code of practice pioneered in the UK, which includes a focus on preventing intoxication and excessive drinking before boarding flights.

Citing an initiative by Monarch Airlines at London's Gatwick Airport, the association noted that training staff in airport bars and duty-free shops to serve alcohol responsibly and avoiding offers that encourage 'binge drinking', can cut such incidents by half.