In the USA alone last year (2023) there were 2,075 cases of disruptive passengers. That led to 512 investigations and 402 enforcement actions. That probably doesn’t sound like that many until you realize it amounted to some $7.5 million in fines being imposed against the disrupters. Yes, causing issues on an aircraft is a big deal and can be very costly.
The FAA actually has an entire page dedicated to the disruptive passenger problem. So does EASA, who reckon an ‘unruly’ person causes safety concerns on flights roughly every 3 hours! But one of the biggest issues is whether or not, if the passenger is really disruptive, the aircraft should divert.
We do see a few diversions on Flightradar24 because of it, so let’s see what happens when passengers start kicking off.
What counts as “disruptive”?
Disruptive, or unruly, can mean a whole bunch of things from being drunk onboard to becoming verbally or physically aggressive. But someone can also get labeled with it if they are just not complying with crew instructions – smoking or vaping onboard, refusing to turn your phone off, not putting your window blind up after being asked, or even just acting in a way that disrupts the cabin crews’ duties.
This is because, despite popular belief, cabin crew are there primarily for safety. OK, safety and service, but safety first! This means they have a lot of procedures, regulations and checks to abide by. They aren’t telling you to put your seat up or to stow your laptop just to be annoying, it’s part of their role and if you disrupt that… well, then you’re being disruptive.
So how do crew deal with this, and what could happen on your flight if someone takes it too far?
The level of disruptiveness is rated according to severity of impact on safety, and is broken into 4 categories:
- Level 1: Non-compliance with crew instructions, irrational or disorderly conduct.
- Level 2: Physically disruptive behavior which may include damage to property or the aircraft, physical assault of Crew Members or other passengers.
- Level 3: Behavior which threatens the life of others on board the aircraft, including threat or actual use of any weapon and /or attempts to open aircraft exits.
- Level 4: An attempted or actual breach of the flight deck door, which may include violent action against the cockpit door itself.
Level 1 is common and in general the cabin crew will attempt to de-escalate behavior by talking with the person, refusing further alcohol and also warning them their behavior won’t be tolerated. We can all have a bad day and airports, airplanes and the whole stressful travel experience can cause people to act out, so if they calm down and stop, it ends there.
But if it escalates to level 2 then the captain is going to get involved… Not literally.
At no time will pilots leave the flight deck to deal with disruptive passengers. This is a huge safety risk, and since the tragic events of 9/11, flight deck crew have strict procedures in place to make sure the flight deck always remains safe. This includes the use of double flight deck doors, door locking procedures and things like security cameras.
On the double door topic – these are actually known as flight deck barriers, and the FAA ruled on them not that long ago saying all new aircraft over a certain size will be required to have them installed. They look like a cage, and are securely closed anytime the flight deck door is going to be opened, forming a sort of cattle gate type system. A good idea given since 9/11 there have actually been some 52 hijacking attempts around the world.
How is it handled?
So, what can the captain do? They can issue a warning in written form. Think of it like a yellow penalty card. One more strike, and you’re out! These cards state various regulations and rules at the passenger, warning them what will happen in terms of legal repercussions if their behavior does not cease.
Unfortunately, though, this does not always work either. The combination of drink, other substances and high altitudes often does lead to further disruption, and when these start to threaten the safety of the crew or other passengers, then the person may need to be restrained.
The Tokyo Convention gives the commander of an aircraft the power to protect the safety of the aircraft and anyone onboard, and to maintain good order and discipline… and to do this, they have the right to use reasonable measures, including restraint. The convention also provides the commander with the right to request assistance from any crew or passengers and protects them against action if they do assist, obviously with that caveat still palling that it must be done in a reasonable way.
So what does ‘restraint’ look like? Well, in general, it will involve the use of specialized handcuffs or wrist restraint devices to subdue the passenger and prevent them from further violence, and they will then be placed in their seat for the remainder of the flight. That means even if they need the toilet!
Cabin crew are trained in how to safely restrain passengers, and often receive a level of self defense training as well. Like I said, don’t assume they are just there to serve tea and coffee – the main responsibility for any cabin crew is safety and security, and they know what they’re doing when it comes to that!
In the cases of a very long flight, or if the person continues to be a potential threat, then the crew will need to decide whether or not to divert. In any case, whether they reach the intended destination, or divert, the disruptive passenger is going to be met by police on arrival and arrested.
The final level, level 4, is when someone attempts to gain access to the flight deck itself. Known as ‘interference’ this is a huge safety threat and will more than result in the flight declaring an emergency and diverting immediately. Crew utilize the transponder to alert ATC about this threat – squawking 7500. 7500 is the international code for interference (7600 alerts ATC to serious communication problems and 7700 to emergency situations).
Diversions
Flights where cockpit breaches have been attempted might be escorted by military aircraft, particularly if the security of the cockpit is unknown. If the cockpit remains secure, but the cabin is compromised they may get diverted to an airport with dedicated services and support. One such example, in the UK, is EGSS/Stansted airport. They have a dedicated area away from the terminal, which enables security services to gain access in the case of hostage situations, or other threats such as bombs.
Pilots will treat a serious disruptive passenger situation similarly to a medical emergency. They will assess the risk of continuing with the person restrained, and will consider the level of support available at the planned destination. If well-being and safety is compromised, they will discuss the most appropriate diversion destination with their company, involving the security department.
ATC will be alerted and a plan will be made for the diversion, and for the removal of the passenger on arrival. In order to minimize disruption to the operation, every attempt will be made to continue onwards afterwards, and considerations as to flight time limitations for the crew will be included in the decision planning.
Advance warning
Sometimes, passengers are accepted in advance who may pose some disruption risk though. These are divided into several groups. Inadmissible passengers are people who have not been allowed entry into a country – usually because of incorrect paperwork or visa issues. These are not ‘criminals’, in fact, I have had an ‘inadmissible’ baby on a flight in the past.
Deportees are people who have been ‘ejected’ from a country, while prisoners are, well, exactly that. Both these groups of passengers can be carried on commercial aircraft, but whether they are comes down to the operator and the crew on the day and are only accepted if the risk assessment shows the to not be a risk.
How big a problem is this?
As of 2024, the FAA has referred some 313 cases to the FBI since 2021. These cover everything from vaping incidents to serious assaults, and even some attempted flight deck breaches. This is actually a drop though, with Covid seeming to have brought the worst out in folk.
On September 9th, Ryanair flight FR2626 heading to Ibiza was diverted to Toulouse, France, after a group of passengers started attacking each other. This was a fairly simple one to deal with given the number of airport options in the vicinity.
In 2022, Virgin Atlantic flight 141 was heading from London to Los Angeles – an 11 hour flight – but diverted to Salt Lake City after crew and passengers had to restrain an unruly passenger. This year, 200 passengers onboard United Airlines flight UA998 heading the opposite way found themselves making an unplanned pitstop into Dublin due to a disruptive passenger and a medical emergency happening onboard (albeit unrelated).
There have also been some notable hijacking attempts. The most bizarre one—Ryanair flight 4978 was diverted to Minsk under ‘false bomb threat pretenses’ so Belarus could arrest a dissident who was onboard. A more recent one from 2023 actually involved an off duty pilot who attempted to pull the engine fire handles in flight.
What is the cost?
In case you’re wondering, that off duty pilot was charged with 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment and 1 count of endangering an aircraft, so one count for every person onboard!
Hijackings are still a rare event though. For your standard unruly passenger, if serious enough, arrest is pretty likely, as is a big fine. Typically, a diversion can cost anywhere from $15,000 to around $100,000, and this is charged to the person causing it! But even if a diversion doesn’t happen, they will probably still face a hefty fine for causing disruption. Acts of drunkenness can see a charge of around $8000 (£5000) and up to 2 years in prison. If you endanger the safety of the aircraft, you may face up to 5 years in prison.
These are European figures. Other countries, particularly ones with strict alcohol laws, may take an even sterner view on it all. You will also probably be blacklisted from airlines.
Disruptive passengers are a big problem and something airlines and operators take VERY seriously. So, behave yourself onboard!
