Sydney. Disputes in the air, aggressive behavior, rioting or smoking in the toilet: flight attendants often have to deal with behavior from passengers during flights that is not actually part of their job responsibilities.
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A similar incident also occurred in Australia in September 2023. According to Information from the Australian Federal Police AFP A 32-year-old man from Western Australia disrupted a flight from Perth to Sydney. The latter takes just over four hours and crosses the entire continent from west to east.
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Due to the turbulence caused by the man on board, the plane had to turn around and fly back to Perth. The latter also meant that the pilot was forced to dump some fuel in order to be able to land again. What exactly the man did and which airline he was flying with is not known. However, the passenger pleaded guilty to one count each of disorderly conduct in an aircraft and failure to follow safety instructions.
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“Incident should serve as a warning”
His behavior has now cost him dearly – almost a year after the actual offense. According to the police statement, the responsible district court in Perth has sentenced him to an unusual punishment. The passenger must pay 8,630 Australian dollars, the equivalent of around 5,220 euros, to cover the costs of the wasted fuel. The court also imposed an additional fine of 9,000 dollars (5,443 euros). This means that his misconduct cost him over 10,000 euros – many times the price of a ticket, which is usually around 180 euros for a one-way trip.
“This incident should serve as a warning that criminal conduct on board can result in high costs for the offender,” Australian Federal Police officer Shona Davis said in a statement. It is much easier to listen to the instructions of flight crew than to cause unnecessary problems that could end up costing you dearly.
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Incidents in the air happen again and again. It is not only in Australia that strict action is now being taken. The US aviation authority also introduced a zero-tolerance policy towards passengers who misbehave on airplanes a few years ago. But although the number of such incidents caused by passengers has fallen sharply since the start of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) zero-tolerance campaign, it is still too high, it was said in a 2021 Press release from the US authority.
Penalties for drunk passengers
In the same statement, the agency called for civil penalties totaling $160,000 to be imposed on eight airline passengers who consumed too much alcohol, some of which they smuggled on board themselves. Alcohol is generally only allowed to be consumed on an airplane if it is served by a flight attendant. Bringing your own alcohol is not normally permitted.
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One dead and many injured on Singapore Airlines flight
A passenger describes dramatic scenes on board Singapore Airlines.
Source: Reuters
As an example, the US authorities cited a passenger who disrupted a Southwest Airlines flight from San Jose to San Diego – both places in the US state of California. According to the FAA, the passenger drank his own alcohol during the flight and continued to do so even after the staff had expressly forbidden him to do so. The passenger also sexually harassed one of the flight attendants.
After landing in San Diego, he is said to have smoked marijuana in the toilet. Ultimately, the flight crew had to call the police and have him picked up at the arrival gate. The FAA demanded a fine of 40,000 US dollars for him.
Some airlines have also developed their own “penalties” for passengers who misbehave at the airport or on board their aircraft. They risk ending up on the airline’s so-called no-fly list and thus being banned from flying, often for several years.
