‘Unruly Passengers’ on Planes Have Doubled in 4 Years, Airline Says: ‘Alcohol Played a Role’
Double trouble.
Bosses from the world’s oldest airline say incidents involving “unruly passengers” have doubled in just four years.
Leen van Duijn, the vice president for security services at Dutch carrier KLM, revealed the shocking stat in a statement on Thursday, saying the rise in antisocial behaviour was an unfortunate “reflection of broader society.”
KLM — which has been in operation since the 1920s — clocked an average of 15 unruly passengers per month back in 2019.
In 2023, the airline recorded a whopping 30 incidents per month, despite being 6% below pre-pandemic capacity.
“The consequences of passengers misbehaving are severe; it has a major impact on our passengers and our colleagues,” van Duijn declared. “No form of physical aggression towards our crew or fellow passengers is tolerated.”
“Unfortunately, we have to note that the number of unruly passengers has increased sharply,” he added.
The carrier claimed that alcohol “played a role” in more than half of all incidents recorded.
Officials added that 60% of the incidents took place onboard an aircraft, while the other 40% occurred in the departure hall.
The situation has become so bad that several European carriers are now working with governments to tackle this issue.
KLM is examining how staff can be better trained to deal with unruly passengers, looking into whether its no-fly lists can be shared with other Dutch airlines “subject to applicable legislation governing privacy.”
