A few weeks after a rampaging drunk bit off a passenger’s nose on a Ryanair flight out of Glasgow, a newly-released official video, viewable below, demonstrates various forms of disruptive in-flight behaviour – and it’s all for a good cause.
The video, made by the European Union’s flight safety arm EASA, in conjunction with IATA, is considered better than the real thing – because the real thing is truly awful.
Its release, part of a “zero tolerance to unruly behaviour” campaign, follows the compilation by EASA of alarming statistics which indicate that every three hours, an unruly or disruptive passenger threatens the safety of a flight within the EU.
At least 70% of these incidents involve some form of aggression. Many incidents centre on people who are drunk, under the influence of drugs, or insane. Some may fall into all three categories.
At least once a month, in-flight confrontations escalate to the point where planes are forced to make emergency landings, EASA reported.
EASA says the figures are worrying as they demonstrate an increasing trend.
In an outrage last month, a wildly aggressive and drunk airline passenger bit off a man’s nose during a brutal brawl on a Ryanair flight out of Glasgow. It happened during a drunken melee that apparently erupted over complaints about a woman not wearing shoes. See: Holiday flight outrage as drunk bites off passenger’s nose
To combat the scourge, EASA has joined forces with IATA in a new campaign, “Not on My Flight”, designed to draw attention to examples of unruly behaviour and the consequences that passengers face.
IATA’s regional vice president for Europe, Rafael Schvartzman, emphasised that flying should be an enjoyable and safe experience.
“Unruly passengers are a small minority but their actions can have a disproportionate impact on others,” Schvartzman said.
“Passengers and crew have a right to a safe flight free from disturbance and harassment. The rise in serious unruly passenger behaviour is a great concern to airlines. IATA members unanimously passed a resolution at our 2014 Annual General Meeting setting out our priorities for tackling unruly incidents, which included working with stakeholders to raise awareness of the importance of this issue.
“We are pleased to support EASA’s ‘not on my flight’ campaign, which we hope will focus minds on what is acceptable conduct on board, and the consequences for passengers if they fail to adhere to safety regulations.”
Written by Peter Needham
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