Investigation
FLIGHT OUT OF ORDER
Scots cabin crews fearing for safety amid surge in booze-fuelled air rage chaos
One holiday destination was named by insiders
CABIN crews have told how they fear for their safety amid a shocking surge in booze-fuelled air rage incidents.
Our probe has revealed at least one flare-up a month involving Scots flights, sparking calls for tougher punishments — amid claims troublemakers feel they can “do what they like”.
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One attendant admitted they dodge services to sunspots such as Tenerife because they’re more likely to have to deal with louts on them.
There have been arrests on ten flights to the Spanish isle in the last year and a half.
And the staff member revealed: “Routes like Tenerife are rowdy. You get a lot of passengers who start drinking as soon as they get to the airport and it goes downhill from there.
"Some people speak to you like dirt — but once we’re in the air there is only so much we can do.
“Every time someone is aggressive, you wonder, ‘Will this be it?’”
Insiders told how anti-social behaviour on jets has got much worse since lockdown when international travel was paused for months.
Our investigation found at least 19 incidents involving Scots travellers’ flights in the last 18 months.
Some bust-ups have forced pilots to change course to airports hundreds of miles away, disrupting other holidaymakers’ plans.
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In the last month alone a Ryanair flight bound for Lanzarote had to return to Edinburgh Airport, where three allegedly drunk men were led off by cops.
And 26 rowdy passengers were booted off an easyJet service from Glasgow to Faro, Portugal. It left without them after a two-hour delay.
Moment thug dragged off Glasgow Jet2 flight after ‘attacking crew & passengers’
Jet2 bosses banned a man for life after he allegedly attacked crew and passengers on a Glasgow-Tenerife service, forcing the pilot to divert to Shannon Airport in Ireland.
The tourist, from Motherwell, was set to be handed a “five-figure” bill for the disruption.
Jet2.com chief Phil Ward branded the incident “a disgrace” — and he vowed to pursue other problem passengers for the cost of diversions.
'Some have forgotten how to behave'
One source insisted that airborne misbehaviour was “definitely getting worse”, revealing: “We are seeing these incidents far more often.
“The vast majority of passengers are well-behaved and just want to enjoy their holiday.
“But it’s like some have forgotten how to behave on a flight and think they can do what they like.”
While crews are trained on how to deal with tensions, they often face holidaymakers who have spent hours boozing before their flights.
The insider said: “Crews are trained in conflict management and dealing with disruptive passengers and how to defuse situations calmly
Scots air-rage incidents
THE Scottish Sun on Sunday has compiled a list of recent air-rage incidents onboard Scottish flights
- Apr 2023: Passenger peed on cabin and intimidated staff, terrified children
- May 2 2023 - Passenger Jay Fraser banned from Jet2 for life after causing a Glasgow - Dalaman, Turkey, flight to be diverted to Sofia, Bulgaria, for a “catalogue of unacceptable behaviour”
- Jul 2023: Edinburgh - Tenerife: Flight diverted and passenger tasered
- Aug 2023 - Edinburgh - Gran Canaria: Drunken family brawl on RyanAir flight
- Oct 2023 - Glasgow - Turkey: Woman had drunken panic attack and attacked crew
- Dec 13 2023 - Passenge disruptive on easyJet flight from Edinburgh - Lanzarote, Spain. Staff had to ask for passengers’ help after he showed “concerning” behaviour.
- Feb 21 2024 - Three people arrested in Spain following a drunken brawl on an Edinburgh to Tenerife flight
- Feb 25 2024 - RyanAir Edinburgh to Tenerife flight diverted after passengers fighting and throwing bottles.
- Mar 15 2024 - Jet2 flight from Edinburgh - Tenerife diverted to Porto Santo, Portugal, where police hauled a disruptive passenger from the flight
- April 17 2024 - Man arrested after being abusive and attacking other passengers on a RyanAir flight from Tenerife to Edinburgh.
- April 20 2024 - easyJet flight from Glasgow to Tenerife diverted to Bristol after two passengers were behaving disruptively.
- April 20 2024 - Celtic fan onboard easyJet flight from Edinburgh - Antalya, Turkey, behaving disruptively. Police boarded the aircraft before being attacked by the passenger.
- April 28 2024 - easyJet flight from Glasgow to Egypt diverted to Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport, Heraklion, Greece where two passengers were removed by cops
- May 25 2024 - TUI flight from Glasgow to Antalya diverted to Newcastle where a drunk passenger was removed by cops
- May 28 2024 - Woman arrested after man allegedly attacked on TUI flight from Glasgow - Cancun. Flight delayed.
- June 12 2024 - Passenger banned for life after causing a Jet2 flight from Glasgow to Tenerife to land in Shannon, Ireland. Arrested on landing. The incident was described as “one of the worst cases of disruptive passenger behaviour that we have ever witnessed.”
- June 26 - 26 passengers kicked off a Glasgow - Faro easyJet aircraft and met by police over disruptive behaviour. Flight delayed by two-and-a-half hours.
- July 6 - Three drunk passengers removed from RyanAir flight from Edinburgh - Lanzarote
“But not all will have been taught self-defence or how to restrain someone. Passengers are given their first warning as soon as the doors close prior to departure.
“Crews are doing everything they can but they never know what they’ll face up there.
“They deserve praise for being so professional.
“Every airline is different but passengers have three to four warnings before it comes to throwing people off and getting the police involved.
“Cabin crews can limit the amount of alcohol passengers consume on the plane but can’t control what goes on in the terminal before the flight.
"You get a lot of passengers who start drinking as soon as they get to the airport and it goes downhill from there."
Airline insider
"Often now they’re having to deal with passengers becoming increasingly more abusive and violent after having far too much to drink.
“They are putting their own safety at risk when they try to calm these situations down.”
It emerged last year that UK air rage cases had more than doubled to 1,028 — up from just 373 in 2019.
JAIL OR £80K FOR OFFENDERS
PROBLEM passengers can face years in jail or fines running to around £80,000.
The Civil Aviation Authority warned badly behaved passengers that airlines can charge them for the cost of diverting a plane.
Depending on the size of the plane and how far it was diverted, anyone who causes a diversion or emergency landing can end up with a bill of between £10,000 and £80,000.
Being drunk on an aircraft can also land louts with a £5,000 fine or even two years in jail.
But if they endanger the safety of the aircraft they could be locked up for five years.
Other cases have seen yobs hauled off planes by foreign cops in Portugal and Spain.
One thuggish passenger was filmed struggling with stewards before they punched a policeman in the face after a detour to Turkey.
Another had to be tasered by Portuguese officers as they subdued him following a diverted landing.
Last night there were calls for tougher penalties for plane louts.
And Scots Tories’ deputy justice spokeswoman Sharon Dowey described the rising number of cases as “alarming and completely unacceptable”.
She said: “Hard-working airline staff shouldn’t have to face such threatening behaviour at work.
“There must be zero tolerance of the yobs who cause fear and huge inconvenience for staff and fellow passengers. That means firm punishments for offenders.”
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Umbrella body Airlines UK told how companies will take legal action against troublemakers who disrupt others’ journeys — with bans for the worst offenders.
A spokesman said: “We have worked with regulators on measures to reduce disruptive behaviour and manage its impact on passengers and crew, including lifetime bans and legal action.
“We will continue to work across the industry on practical steps to see incidents reduced.” Meanwhile, airports across the UK have launched campaigns to clamp down on louts before their flights take off.
The ‘No Excuse for Abuse’ initiative was launched at Edinburgh’s hub to tackle disruptive behaviour.
"Hard-working airline staff shouldn’t have to face such threatening behaviour at work."
Sharon Dowey MSP, Scottish Tories Deputy Justice Spokesperson
A spokesman said: “We want all passengers to have an enjoyable start to their journey.
“We realise anti-social and disruptive behaviour at any time of the day by a minority of people can spoil the experience for everyone.
“Thankfully, these incidents are very rare. Where passengers are disruptive or disorderly, we have established processes in place to deal with this and we work closely with partners, including Police Scotland.”
Staff at Glasgow Airport use a hotline to quickly alert colleagues to troublesome behaviour.
And AGS, owners of Glasgow and Aberdeen airports, said: “It’s important to stress that instances of disruptive behaviour are extremely rare.
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“However, any incident is one too many. It can often disproportionately affect a large number of passengers as well as airline and airport staff.
“And this is why AGS adopts a zero-tolerance approach.”
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