The British Government is considering a ban list for unruly airline passengers which would prevent them from flying.
In what is being described as early work, the scheme would allow air lines to share information on disruptive passengers and potentially restrict their access to flights.Currently, if a passenger is banned by one airline, they can potentially book with another.
A government source told the BBC that officials from the Department for Transport will be meeting with airlines this month to discuss how the proposal could work. Meanwhile Ryanair is already campaigning to restrict alcohol consumption at airports before flights.
. . . Locally
In this country the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) recorded 52 unruly passenger complaints in 2023 and 46 in 2024. By late last year, 38 complaints had been recorded, according to figures supplied to Travel Today. The CAA initiated two prosecutions in 2022 and 2024.
Last year a New Zealander was ordered to pay compensation by a court in Australia after drunkenly assaulting two crew on an Air New Zealand flight from Perth to Auckland. Last month a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Dallas was forced to divert to Tahiti after a passenger, also a Kiwi, became disruptive.
He’s been banned from all Qantas group flights. In America the Trump administration has already launched a campaign to bring civility back to flying. US Federal Aviation Administration figures show unruly passenger reports spiked in 2021 with 5973 incidents but have since fallen to 1621 last year.
