Global aviation body IATA is calling on governments to close legal loopholes that allow unruly passengers to escape law enforcement for serious offences committed on board planes.
“Airlines are doing all they can to prevent and manage unruly passenger incidents, but this needs to be backed up with effective law enforcement,” said Tony Tyler, head of the International Air Transport Association.
“Reports of unruly behaviour are on the rise,” he said.
A meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organisation in Montreal this week aims to update the 1963 Tokyo Convention on passenger safety.
Proposed revisions to the treaty would make it easier for authorities to prosecute the small minority of passengers who are violent, disruptive, abusive, or act in a manner that might endanger safety, IATA said.
This week a Jetstar passenger who claimed to have an AK47 in his luggage mid-flight was banned by the airline and fined $500.
The Australian passenger was onboard a flight from Melbourne to Christchurch in New Zealand.
