Passengers reminded of unruly behaviour penalties as Bank Holiday getaway begins
Over 32,000 flights will depart from UK airports this Bank Holiday weekend, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.
As well as warning passengers to allow plenty of time when travelling to the airport, particularly as roads will be congested and some rail routes will be closed due to engineering works, the CAA is also highlighting penalties for unruly behaviour, with offenders facing up to five years in jail.
New CAA data shows that even before the busy summer flying season began, it had already received more than 200 incident reports about disruptive passengers from UK airlines in 2018.
CAA UK director Richard Stephenson said: "The aviation industry will be working hard this weekend helping everyone going on holiday to have a trouble-free journey.
"We therefore call on all passengers to act responsibly as drunken and abusive behaviour is totally unacceptable. Not only does it cause distress to fellow travellers, but it can jeopardise flight safety.
"Passengers need to know they will face the full weight of the law should they be found guilty of disorderly behaviour."
ABTA estimates 2.2 million Brits are set to head overseas this bank holiday weekend.
Popular destinations include the Balearic Islands, mainland Spain, Greece and Florida, as well as Turkey, where holidaymakers can get almost twice as many Turkish liras to the pound than this time last year.
Barcelona, Dublin, Prague, Paris and Amsterdam are the most popular choices for city breaks.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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