Media

- Every 3 hours the safety of a flight within the EU is threatened by passengers demonstrating unruly or disruptive behaviour. 
- At least 70% of these incidents involve some form of aggression. 
- At least once a month the situation escalates to such a degree forcing the plane to perform an emergency landing.¹

The safety of flights, passengers and crew can be affected by the unruly behaviour of a small minority of passengers.  The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has launched a campaign to remind passengers of their responsibilities to fellow travellers and flight crew and to encourage passengers to be mindful of the negative impacts of unruly behaviour.

The IAA has joined a global partnership spearheaded by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to promote a safety campaign, “Not On My Flight”. The partnership is supported by The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and is made up of a number of European airlines, aviation regulators and air navigation service providers. The campaign draws attention to examples of unruly behaviour on board aircraft, and the consequences for passengers and crew.  Unruly behaviour can include intoxication, aggressive or inappropriate behaviour as well as not following the commands of flight crew, who are there to protect passenger safety.

This August bank holiday weekend will be one of the busiest weekends at Irish airports, with many people heading off on holidays or short breaks.  With over 100,000 passengers travelling through Irish airports each day this coming weekend, it is particularly important to remind people of their responsibilities when travelling on aircraft. 

Peter Kearney, Chief Executive of the IAA said: “Flying should be an enjoyable and positive experience for passengers. Whilst incidents associated with unruly passenger behaviour occur on only a small number of flights, they can have a significant impact on flight crew, other passengers and even affect the safety of the flight. We want to remind passengers that their actions can have a direct impact on both the safety of crew and others on board an aircraft. Any kind of unruly or disruptive behaviour, including excessive alcohol consumption, introduces an unnecessary risk to all and it is therefore very important that passengers comply with crew instructions and do not distract the cabin crew from their duties. Please enjoy your flight and allow others to enjoy their flight as well.” 


¹ Occurrences involving Unruly Passengers from the European Central Repository that were reported by operators from the EASA Member States in accordance with the definitions in Regulation (EU) 376/2014.