Air Rage:

Extreme misbehavior by unruly passengers, often called air rage or sky rage,

can lead to some tense moments in the air and may even put crew members and

passengers at risk. Reasons for such behavior include excessive alcohol

consumption, smoking bans, crowding, and long flights, psychological feelings

of a loss of control, or problems with authority figures. The following

resources should provide the passenger or the airline professional with

insights into how to deal with these situations.

What is Air Rage? (international transport workers' federation)

Disruptive passenger behaviour ranges from non-compliance with safety

instructions through to actions amounting to verbal harassment or physical

assault directed at staff, passengers or the aircraft.

In recent years there has been an alarming increase in the number of air rage

incidents. Aggression on board the aircraft or in the check -in line can be

disturbing and frightening. In serious cases it can put a flight in jeopardy.

In the confined environment of an aircraft at 30,000 feet, abuse and physical

aggression is extremely dangerous. During a flight there is no easy way for

passengers to remove themselves from such an incident, and there is no way to

get outside assistance.

Some of these incidents have involved serious assaults on crew members or

passengers. Some have been serious enough to cause pilots to abort a landing

or to divert the aircraft. Many people in the industry believe that it is

only a matter of time before one of these incidents results in a serious

aircraft accident.