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IATA: air rage incidents on the rise
Monday, 29 Sep, 2016
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Incidents of unruly passengers causing disruptions on planes surged 17% last year, about double the rate in passenger growth.
There were 10,854 air rage incidents reported by airlines last year, the International Air Transport Association said.
It has called for more effective ways to curb air rage.
The figures work out at one recorded incident every 1,205 flights, up from one incident per 1,282 flights the previous year.
Most of the recorded incidents involved the failure of passengers to adhere to crew instructions, verbal abuse and other anti-social behaviour.
IATA says airports should enhance training of employees in ‘the responsible provision of alcohol’ in airport bars which can reduce incidents by up to half.
"For bar operators and restaurateurs, we’re also saying to them, look, you also have a responsibility to make sure you’re not promoting binge drinking," said Tom Colehan, IATA’s assistant director of government and industry affairs.
However one US passenger advocacy group says the real issue is the added stress of more people being squeezed onto planes.
"We’ve always had alcohol sold at airports, we have always had alcohol served on aircraft. The only difference today is that people now have less space and they are required to interact more intimately with other passengers,” said Charlie Leocha, president of Travelers United.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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