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It is no longer isolated to our roads, a new and unnerving phenomenon is griping our skies… air rage. Angry and insolent passengers have assaulted crew members, caused transatlantic flights to be diverted and if you think that’s bad, they have even defecated on a food trolley! Unruly behaviour at 10,000 feet is increasing, both in frequency and intensity.
The number of incidents on British aircraft alone has doubled since 2003. Between March 2005, and March 2006, there were 1,359, of which 56 were viewed as "serious." They can be expensive, too.
The most recent example is Irishman David McAuliffe's drunken rage on-board a Phoenix bound British Airways flight March 3. The crew diverted the plane to Winnipeg. McAuliffe pleaded guilty and was fined $2,000 and ordered to pay the airline $15,000 in costs.
When a Swedish model threw a tantrum, waving a wine bottle and refusing to take her assigned seat, her British Airways flight from London to New York was diverted to Goose Bay, Labrador. The airline pegged the cost of the emergency landing at $18,491.73. The judge ordered the model to make
restitution and fined her $10,000 to boot.
And an American banker was fined $50,000 after he attacked a flight attendant and defecated on a first-class food trolley during a United Airlines flight from Buenos Aires to New York.
The factors contributing to air rage include alcohol, low air pressure, lack of oxygen and "sardine seating." As well as the usual on board nuisances of:
confusion over seating, too many passengers bringing too much stuff, the hogging
of the arm rest and the screaming kids that always happen to sit behind you.
So how do we curb this ever-increasing
phenomenon? Relax, breath deeply, reclaim your armrest, and if all else fails…
think of the fines!
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