The case in summary: There is a growing trend of passengers acting out on board planes. Psychiatrist Morten Hagen understands the frustration and believes that cramped conditions, check-in and security checks can be stressful. Hagen suggests that closer contact with personnel and less full planes can help. Sissel Vian, leader of Parat Kabinforbund, emphasizes the importance of zero tolerance for potentially problematic passengers. Carl Gilberg Rego, head of the pilot union in Parat, sees the growing trend as a negative and disturbing development in the workplace. Anneli Nyberg, deputy chairperson of Parat, believes that an international strategy is necessary to deal with the problem. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Earlier this week, news mentioned that there are more and more people acting out on board planes. Morten Hagen is a psychiatrist. In connection with his job, he has to travel quite a bit. He tells news that he can understand why some passengers are unable to behave. – I have known the frustration for a long time. Of course it’s not good to act out, but I often feel the temptation to click. Cabin crew and pilots believe it is very important that the trend is now reversed. More miscreants on board flights There has been an increase in incidents involving unruly passengers, with 293 reported incidents in 2022 and at least 560 cases in 2023. Widerøe has experienced a 53 percent increase in the number of incidents involving unruly passengers from 2019 to 2023. Rus is behind 35-40 per cent of cases, but stress and general travel experiences can also be factors. Unruly behavior can have serious consequences for passengers, including heavy fines and potential jail time. – Especially when you feel compelled to fly Hagen works in Helgeland in Nordland, but lives further south in Norway. That is why he has regularly taken trains north. But after the bridge collapse in Gudbrandsdalen, it has become more difficult. – Before that, I did all the traveling between Helgeland and Southern Norway by train. I’ve always struggled with flying, he says to news and explains: – It’s a tight space, tight in every angle. In addition, there is check-in and security, which for me is a hassle, or a nightmare. Security checks and check-in are mandatory, and can be experienced as stressful. Photo: Karina Kaupang Jørgensen / news He understands that people can be stressed by being “forced” in such a situation. – Especially when you feel compelled to make the journey by plane. Much would have been achieved if it was possible to choose something other than flying. It often isn’t. The psychiatrist also thinks it is strange that the airlines cannot explain why people act out. – Have they asked the relevant ones? I realize that I could have taken action, but of course I can’t do that, he says and adds: – I think those who are responsible, and who charge for transporting us, must contribute to finding solutions for people like me who struggle to relate to air traffic. Do you find flying stressful? Yes, very Well, a little No, it’s perfectly fine to fly Show result Better with close follow-up Full flights make it extra difficult, Hagen points out, and says that it is of course easier if there is more space on board as you can often get permission to move around a bit. – But this is a marginal industry. They can hardly fly around with half-empty planes. What other suggestions do you have? – Widerøe is not too bad at this. They are not large planes and you have closer contact with the personnel, replies Hagen. – I would guess that it is on the most fully packed departures that outing happens most often. But it’s probably so rare that it still pays for them to stuff the plane completely. Sissel Vian says cabin crew are well trained in how to deal with different passengers. Photo: Bjørn Erik Rygg Lunde / news Sissel Vian, head of the Parat Cabin Association, says she understands that some people find it difficult to fly. She gives Hagen support in that contact between passengers and personnel is important. – The cabin crew are incredibly good at reading people. If they discover that someone is upset, stressed or behaving abnormally, they try to find solutions that can improve the situation. But to think that the airlines will step in to fill the planes less is unthinkable. – When we flew with half-full planes during the pandemic, we saw that there was no economy in it. But I understand that it can be experienced as cramped. Zero tolerance Vian emphasizes that it is important that all actors, both nationally and internationally, work together to reduce the number of unruly passengers. – It is a burden to go to a job where you do not feel safe. We all agree that there should be zero tolerance for passengers who we assume could become a problem on board. Sissel Vian has extensive experience as cabin crew. Photo: Niklas Aune Johnsen / news For cabin crew, it is therefore important to avoid any crisis situations. But if the accident happens first, it is even more important that they have passengers who are bolted on. – Unruly passengers will become a bottleneck in the system if we have to evacuate. We will meet the passengers, see them and try to understand. – Should people get better at talking to cabin crew? – We really appreciate passengers who report that they are in a difficult situation. And there are also many who do. Can end in earlier landing Unruly air passengers not only affect themselves, cabin crew and other passengers. The pilots are consequently also affected by the growing trend. Carl Gilbert Rego, leader of the pilot association in Parat, tells news that they see this as a negative, disturbing trend. – This affects the workplace of my colleagues. Now there should be a focus on this so that we can ensure a safe and good workplace for everyone. The captain may ask passengers to leave the aircraft. Photo: Colourbox Rego says that the cabin crew are extremely important in the job of detecting passengers who behave abnormally. If they fail to calm them down, the captain may end up having to step in. – If there is someone you doubt, the captain is contacted. The captain has the authority to expel. And if a passenger joins the air, before that person starts behaving badly, the worst case scenario could be an earlier landing. – It doesn’t happen often, but on rare occasions the captain chooses to land at the nearest airport. Then the bill goes to the person who is the cause of this, and it won’t be cheap. Has the pandemic affected us? When asked why we are seeing an increase in unruly passengers, Rego replies that it is difficult to speculate. – It seems that for some it is more acceptable to be anti-authoritarian. But what is important now is focus on this. The numbers are unfortunately increasing, and it shouldn’t be like that, Rego replies and adds: – Then we have to make it clear that it is not acceptable. He receives support from Anneli Nyberg, deputy leader of Parat. They organize many within Norwegian aviation. She is also working towards international cooperation, which she believes is very important if we are to bring about change. Anneli Nyberg is deputy leader of Parat. She believes that international cooperation is very important to reverse the trend. Photo: Privat Nyberg points out that an increase was reported during the pandemic. – It probably has to do with strict restrictions, which in turn help to increase frustration. But then there are probably several other reasons as well. According to her, the situation is relatively similar in Norway, Europe and the rest of the world. – How is work being done now to reverse the trend? – This is complex and we must therefore work together in a structured manner. There needs to be an international strategy in place for how we will handle this, she says and adds: – In this work, it is important that the employees are represented. They are the ones who stand in the situations and who can find the way to solutions. That way we can minimize the risk. Hi!Thanks for reading the whole thing. Feel free to send me a tip if you want me to write about something else! Want to read more? Here are some tips:
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Airlines concerned about increasing number of unruly passengers – news Nordland
