How A New Airline Rule Could Ban Unruly Passengers For Good

If you keep up with travel news, you may notice that there seems to be a rise in cases of unruly passengers on flights. Sometimes, the passengers are so disruptive that they delay take-off time and even create a situation where a plane’s path needs to be redirected.

Unruly passengers on planes can disrupt flights

Well, according to the BBC, a new airline rule in the U.K. could deal with such disruptive passengers by banning them from flying on ANY airline in the country for the rest of their lives.

Officials from the U.K. Department for Transport are meeting with airlines this month to discuss how creating a ban list across airlines of disruptive passengers will work. The idea is that those passengers would be put on a national ban list and prevented from flying with any airline for life. It would also allow airlines to share information on unruly passengers and restrict them from boarding flights.

©United Airlines

Problematic behavior, drunken passengers, and other disruptive folks have become an increasing problem for many airlines. Right now, though, if a passenger with a history of disruptive behavior on a flight gets banned from one airline, they can still book flights on other airlines. The new rule would prevent that.

“Everyone should be able to enjoy a pint at the airport, but antisocial behaviour on flights is totally unacceptable,” a government source told the BBC. “It threatens the safety of passengers and crew, and disrupts hard-earned holidays.”

Flying

If approved, this national database would be managed by the government and the airline industry together. It would not require any changes in current law, although it would have to figure out a way to work with the U.K.’s current data protection rules. Right now, those rules restrict the sharing of passenger information. “There are already tough laws in place to deal with offenses committed on flights, but we are exploring with industry how we can better address this issue, ensuring we crack down on people who persistently cause chaos,” the government source added.

On board a flight

Jet 2 chief operations officer Phil Ward talked about how the airline would support such an effort. He said, “The creation of a national database will mean that, as well as being banned from flying with us, disruptive passengers can also be banned from flying with other UK airlines. We look forward to meeting with the government to discuss further.”

A group that represents most U.K. airlines is also supportive of the idea, stating that “additional measures” need to be taken with those passengers who cause serious flight disruptions. The group also stressed that creating a national ban list would be an “important next step.”

We’ll keep an eye out for more air travel news, so stay tuned to DFB for more.

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What do you think about this ban list? Would you like to see this in the U.S.? Share your thoughts in the comments!