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José Antonio Guerrero
Madrid
Monday, 16 September 2024, 18:50
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Last June, a Polish couple in their 40s were involved in an unusual incident on a flight from Spain when they were spotted having sex onboard a plane flying from Alicante. Despite being caught by the cabin crew and ordered to stop, the pair not only ignored them, but even insulted the cabin crew. The two were arrested by police when the aircraft arrived at its final destination, Munich.
Despite the news coverage at the time, in-flight sex is not among the most common incidents involving passengers. "It is certainly not something that happens very often. It has never happened to me and I have been flying for 22 years," said Carlos García Molaguero, spokesperson for Spain's association of commercial aviation pilots (Copac), who pointed out the embarrassing spectacle as one of the conflicts that tend to go viral on social media. "There are certain measures of decorum towards other passengers that must be respected. These are reprehensible behaviours that should not be allowed on an aeroplane," said Molaguero, who has however, had to deal with other issues such as excessive alcohol consumption. These are much more frequent than one might think.
In 2023, the Spanish aviation safety agency (AESA) recorded 1,166 complaints for incidents arising from conflictive behaviour by passengers. The airports of Tenerife Sur (189 incidents), Alicante (184) and Palma de Mallorca (177) headed the most problematic destinations. Incidents were "generally" caused by passengers from the United Kingdom, according to AESA. So far in 2024 there have already been 976 incidents recorded. Palma de Mallorca and Alicante are again among the most problematic routes, but Tenerife falls and El Prat in Barcelona takes its place, the data shows.
The "irresponsible" consumption of alcohol before boarding or during the flight is behind the vast majority of incidents leading to aggressive behaviour between passengers. Heated confrontations when placing hand luggage in the overhead compartments of the aircraft crop up frequently, as well other issues such as disobeying the instructions of flight attendants, smoking on board or unfastening seat belts when the lights indicate otherwise.
Molaguero, who works mainly on long-haul flights, pointed out that during Covid-19 crews needed to deal with passengers who resisted the use of the mask, but now the majority of conflicts arise from drunken tourists. "This excessive alcohol consumption often manifests itself in a lack of respect for the cabin crew or in not following the instructions to fasten seat belts or not returning to their seats when the warning light comes on and the passenger insists on standing up or wants to go to the toilet when they cannot do so at that moment. Anything that involves not following these instructions is an offence, if not a crime, if it seriously jeopardises the safety of the flight," he said.
If the aircraft commander sees a security threat, he may decide to divert the aircraft to the nearest airport in order to hand the troublemaker over to the police. "I haven't had that bad luck," said Molaguero, who added that the role of the cabin crew involves spotting passengers who have had too much to drink before take-off. "The best thing is to detect them in good time, and here the professional experience of the crew is important, as they know how to detect passengers who may pose a risk to the flight, and deny them boarding," Molaguero said.
If the person has already boarded, and the plan is still on the ground, that person may be ordered to leave the aircraft.
Although there are no official statistics, it is usually the routes to and from tourist and party destinations operated by low-cost airlines and with young passengers as their main clientele where most of the in-flight incidents occur. "This type of flight tends to have a higher rate of problems due to alcohol consumption at origin. Before boarding, passengers already have high blood alcohol levels," Molaguero said.
In an interview published on 28 August in the British newspaper The Telegraph, Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, called for limiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages at airports to two after detecting an increase in violent altercations on board its planes this summer, especially on routes to holiday destinations.
Molaguero also pointed out passengers who lock themselves in aircraft toilets to smoke or vape, another common occurrence. "All devices that light up and heat up can generate a fire, and a fire inside an aircraft is a critical issue that can end in a fatality," he said.
In these cases, cabin crew are prepared to act, but even so, and apart from health issues, lighting a cigarette is a "serious danger" to flight safety, which can lead to fines and even imprisonment.
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