Air Rage Incidents Soared In 2022

Air rage incidents soared by 61 per cent in 2022 according to the airline industry's International Air Transport Association.

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IATA released a new analysis showing that reported air rage incidents increased in 2022 compared to 2021 and has called for states to take the necessary authority to prosecute passengers.

The latest figures show that there was one unruly incident reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one per 835 flights in 2021. That's 135 incidents a day across the globe. The most common categorizations of incidents in 2022 were non-compliance, verbal abuse and intoxication.

Physical abuse incidents remain rare, but these had an alarming increase of 61 per cent over 2021, occurring once every 17,200 flights.

“The increasing trend of unruly passenger incidents is worrying. Passengers and crew are entitled to a safe and hassle-free experience on board. For that, passengers must comply with crew instructions. While our professional crews are well-trained to manage unruly passenger scenarios, it is unacceptable that rules in place for everyone’s safety are disobeyed by a small but persistent minority of passengers. There is no excuse for not following the instructions of the crew,” said Conrad Clifford, IATA’s Deputy Director General.

Although non-compliance incidents initially fell after the mask mandates were removed on most flights, the frequency began to rise again throughout 2022 and ended the year some 37 per cent on 2021. The most common examples of non-compliance were:

•            Smoking of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vapes and puff devices in the cabin or lavatories

•            Failure to fasten seatbelts when instructed

•            Exceeding the carry-on baggage allowance or failing to store baggage when required

•            Consumption of own alcohol on board

IATA has a two-pillar strategy in place as under to achieve zero tolerance:

1.           Regulation: Ensure governments have the necessary legal authority to prosecute unruly passengers, regardless of their state of origin and to have a range of enforcement measures that reflect the severity of the incident. Such powers exist in the Montreal Protocol 2014 (MP14), and IATA is urging all states to ratify this as soon as possible. To date, some 45 nations comprising 33% of international passenger traffic have ratified MP14. 

2.           Guidance to prevent and de-escalate incidents: Prevent incidents through collaboration with industry partners on the ground (such as airports, bars and restaurants and duty-free shops), including for example awareness campaigns on the consequences of unruly behaviour. Additionally, sharing best practices, including training, for the crew to de-escalate incidents when they occur. A new guidance document was published at the beginning of 2022 gathering best practices for airlines and providing practical solutions to governments on public awareness, spot fines, and fixing jurisdiction gaps.