Air Rage Blamed on Alcohol

Air Rage Blamed on Alcohol, Tobacco

A British study concludes that a 62 percent increase in “air-rage” incidents among airline passengers can largely be traced to misbehavior among drinkers and smokers, the Daily Mail reported Dec. 6.

The British Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) report concluded that “the main contributory factors to disruptive behavior were alcohol and tobacco,” including violent drunks and passengers who refused to obey smoking bans.

Reports of air-rage incidents have quadrupled since 2002, the agency noted, partly because airlines have adopted a “zero tolerance” policy towards such offenders.

Alcohol was involved in more than a third of air-rage cases, the agency said, including passengers

• drinking their own alcohol in 29 percent of cases,
• 23 percent involving passengers who drank before boarding the plane, and
• 17 percent who acted up after drinking alcohol supplied by the airline.

Smoking was involved in about a quarter of air-rage incidents, mostly revolving around attempts to smoke in aircraft lavatories.

“Smoking restrictions and alcohol were common triggers for disruptive behavior, while arguments between passengers often stemmed from domestic disputes, allocation of seats or the effect of a reclining seat on the person behind,” the CAA report noted.