Reporting Disruptive Pax

[Aeropig1]

Hey, when leafing through the disruptive pax statsfor the UK it appears that the incidents of disobeying crew, Arguing with crew, arguing with Pax are down as are cases where alcohol is a contributory factor. in addition the number of times police are called has decreased.

Must admit that on a personal note I am surprised and from some of the threads some of you may be. Are the incidents being reported properly or is it really getting better?

[ 06 August 2001: Message edited by: Aeropig1 ]

[fen boy]

If you look at the official figures - rather than those from 'media voxpops' then I think you'll find the figures of serious incidents have been pretty steady for the past six years or so. The last I heard was about 95 per year out of around 105 million pax carried by UK airlines. It seems more because every single incident gets media coverage.

[A and C]

From a personal point of view i have not had a disruptive pax for a long time ,i think that the publicity of the big fines and time in prison is having some effect just is the support that we now get from the police at most places that we go.

I just hope that it stays this way !.

[flapsforty]

Good for the UK!

In The Netherlands it goes the opposite direction: in the first 6 months of this year more air-rage cases were reported than in the whole of last year. :(

While the media-coverage of anything having to do with aviation often gets reviled here on pprune, I wonder if fen boy is correct?
Does the extensive media coverage of these cases and their legal aftermath in the UK actually serve as a deterrent?

[BTB]

Could it be that we are getting better at handling them, and nipping the problem before it gets out of hand? I used to get no end of toilet smokers on Madrid/Barcelona/Malaga flights last year until I started reminding the pax on the welcome PA that this was a "STRICTLY no smoking flight"... none since. (They seem to listen to the flight deck) Also I think that the CC are getting better at recognising the early signs and stop putting alcohol into the equasion. Now, how do we deal with the pompous middle aged professional knowall??

[flapsforty]

In a similar vein, I've changed from the bland company announcement "please switch off and stow your mobile phones for the remainder of this flight" to a self made one that goes "mobile phones on stand-by search for contact with a ground station. This searching can interfere with the navigational computers of our aircraft. A dangerous situation, we don't want it, please make sure that your mobile is switched off COMPLETETELY" Delivered standing in the aisle looking them sternly in the eye.

Since I've started making this announcement, on each and every stretch a few pax get up and check their phones, something I never saw them do when I made the old announcement. And usually a couple of them even thank me during the flight for explaining why they have to switch off their darlings completely.

Information to the pax makes a big difference, even when it's delivered by cabin crew, BTB :D

[JPJ]

It would be nice to think that the stern approach taken by the English courts has helped to deter Air Rage incidents, but a large number of the offenders I have seen are not UK residents, and would probably not know just how seriously these things are regarded here.

Serious misbehaviour on flights inbound to the UK will almost certainly result in a prison sentence, irrespective of the background of the offender, and even after being given credit for pleading guilty.

[BRUpax]

You hit it on the nail FLAPSFORTY! A great majority of pax are not au fait with the reasons for all the don't and do's of flying. Take the trouble to explain and they will comply. Of course you run the risk of some prat from management admonishing you for not sticking to standard PAs!! :rolleyes:

[fen boy]

Fen Boy is most definitely correct as Fen Boy has the CAA figures in his draw.

[flapsforty]

fen boy I did not doubt the veracity of your statistics.

I was merely wondering if there is a correlation between the decrease in reported air-rage cases, and the attention air-rage has gotten in the UK media.

[VnV2178B]

Flaps is right, even if the words don't comply with company regulations.

There is still an element of treating the PAX as sub-human morons, if you take the time to explain what the problem is them most will realise that there is something real behind the ban not just a 'don't do it because I say so' statement.

VnV...

[Aeropig1]

Fenboy - we have the same figures,
its just that from my view point they don't seem to follow the trend of the ones we have dealt with. I sincerely hope they do reflect what is happening particularly those incidents that crew have to deal with in the air without any assistance.

I ask the retorical question about reporting correctly as the CAA and DETR can only categorise those they know about. Unfortunately we are in the age of supply and demand therefore the response to such incidents when they occur is based on those figures accurate or not. A great deal has been achieved over the last few years with the cooperation of crews, companies and Law enforcement. I just don't want us to shoot ourselves in the foot.

No swipes being made at anyone - just trying to get a better picture from you all.

[fen boy]

Quite true Aeropig, if cases are not being reported then the Authorities are not going to know about them. If the industry is going to continue to combat this issue then we need the true facts from the coalface. Otherwise regulators, government etc will move away from hte subject and say it's no longer a serious issue. All UK crews (cockpit and cabin) should have access to the reporting forms and I'd urge them to complete them if they have had an incidient .

[Jonathan Hope]

Anyone heard rumour about AF Station Manager getting smacked by irrate pax??

[LatviaCalling]

Air rage aside for a moment -- I'm meeting with the chief pilot this weekend -- but your FLAPSFORTY note on the mobiles, is scary in this part of the world.

All the sports pants dudes and the crotch mini-skited pros don't want to turn their mobiles off for nothing. I see this and I notify the FA, who then gets them to turn it off.

The visible ones do turn it off, but how many keep it on? What airline am I talking about? AirBaltic -- a partner of SAS.

[Roadtrip]

I've been told that UK and Euro authorities do virtually nothing to disruptive pax who are removed from a diverted airplane. Is this not true.

BTW, Bangor, Maine in the US is a great place to eject disruptive passengers. They have lots of experience and not much patience in dealing with creeps, idiots, drunks, and yobbos, and can service the airplane and get you on your way quickly.

Any other suggestions for the best, er . . . "worst" places to "bounce" idiots off an airplane?

Singapore comes to mind. Just can't stop admiring their treatment of the little American delinquent that got his arse whipped to a blood pulp for spray painting cars.

[Airborne Hamster]

An article in one of the local Manchester papers recently stated that the Police,but also airport workers were going to be provided with a 'warning card' to present to potential disruptive pax in the terminal if they were considered to be making a nuisance of themselves,threatening further action.

Overall I think this idea could be a small step forward.I just hope some poor member of the cleaning staff doesn't end up being glassed in the face as a result of it.

[JPJ]

Roadtrip; The answer to your question is no, as far as the UK is concerned. See my earlier post on this thread.

Facts can be disappointing, but they are facts nonetheless.

[PENNINE BOY]

Just drop into C.D.G.and watch the Gendarmie
drag the trouble causers off an aircraft,
Poetry in motion!!! :p

[Aeropig1]

Roadtrip, the problem of response depends on which airport in the UK you fly into. If it has a full time police presence then you SHOULD get a good response. The courts usualy respond well in the area as they do have a good understanding of the potential dangers. In airports not covered with a full time police presence then assistance is assesed against all the other emergency calls in the local area and the finite resources allocated appropriately.

The law was change recently to incorporate a new offence of interfering with crew and disorderely behaviour and I am informed that during this parliament we may see more legislation that will assist in prosecuting offenders so we are moving in the right direction. Hope this helps