Air rage: Latest and ever-increasing in-flight hazard

JAKARTA (JP): A flight attendant is slapped while serving dinner. A crew member gets punched before take off. And a drunken passenger, who blows his stack after he is denied an alcoholic drink, uses a meal cart as his lavatory.

Unfortunately, these situations of passengers who act in an unruly or violent behavior during a flight are encountered by employees in the airline industry. When the aircraft is 35,000 feet in the air, this violence can threaten not only one person but hundreds of lives.

Flight attendants who point out the emergency exits and demonstrate safety procedures at the start of each flight have great difficulty in preparing travelers for air rage, the latest and ever-increasing in-flight hazard.

As psychiatrists, psychologists and airline industry professionals seek to find a solution for a syndrome that pushes some people to vent their anger at airline equipment, staff and fellow passengers, the in-flight horror stories continue to increase.

Over the past few years, airline staff have been physically abused and verbally threatened, fellow passengers have been assaulted and in one notorious incident, an irate passenger used a serving cart as a lavatory.

Alarmingly, these are not isolated incidents and it was only recently that the frequency of such events and the obvious danger to all passengers and crew on board propelled the law and judicial forces to take firm action.

In the United Kingdom, the government is expected to introduce new legislation, making air rage a criminal offense.

"While legislation is an important step in our attempts to put an end to the abhorrent violence, we are working hard to get to the root of the problem," said David Hyde, the British Airways director of safety and security.

British Airways is especially interested in a solution to air rage. Over the last three years, the company has identified a 400 percent rise in air rage incidents, ranging from passengers breaking the airline's worldwide smoking ban to major disturbances from inebriated and abusive individuals.

From March 1998 to March 1999, there were 122 incidents on board British Airways aircraft. Seven were related to smoking violations, eight were smoking and alcohol related, 60 were alcohol abuse related and 47 were abusive cases.

For airline industry experts, the solution lies in finding the cause. A current theory contends that air rage does not begin with a flash of rage but rather starts with an irritation. Extended hours in a cramped, uncomfortable seat, the effects of dehydration from a lack of fresh air in the cabin, too much alcohol, flight delays and stress from refraining from smoking are factors that can turn a minor irritation into acts of fury.

In an effort to reduce the risk of air rage, British Airways is making efforts to bring more traveling comfort to passengers and also implementing policy changes.

The policy changes now include empowering ground staff to refuse boarding passengers they believe are under the influence of alcohol, allows the in-flight cabin crew to stop serving alcohol to passengers and, if necessary, authorizes staff to remove duty free alcohol.

A yellow "final warning" card system, which issues notices to disruptive passengers stating that they face arrest on landing if they do not behave, has also been introduced.

Attendance in air rage seminars, training staff on how to diffuse potentially violent situations and how to apply methods of restraint have also become mandatory for all crew members.