A 30-year-old drunk British holidaymaker tried to kiss a male flight attendant on a plane. He spent a week in Mallorca presumably thinking his actions were consequence-free.
He was then arrested on his way back through Palma airport.
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In February, Jet2 banned two passengers from the airline for life after a mid-air brawl on a flight from Turkey to Manchester.
Last week, BA had to cancel a flight back from Barbados because some members of the crew were still too drunk from the hotel bar to operate it.
The Rise of Air Rage
The term “air rage” was coined in the 90s. The behaviour it describes went through the roof post-Covid.
In 2021, the number of reported incidents in the US was greater than in the previous three decades combined.
Incident numbers aren’t collected in the UK, only numbers of prosecutions. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warns this is a poor metric because of jurisdictional gaps.
Something that’s illegal in the airline’s country – racist abuse, say – might not be illegal where the plane lands.
Often people arrested on touchdown are released without charge.
Unite, the union representing most cabin crew, which has 30,000 female members in the sector, last year found that 34% of women had been sexually assaulted at work (this includes ground staff).
67% had experienced unwanted flirting, gesturing or sexual remarks. 65% had been the recipient of sexually offensive jokes.
