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An “unruly passenger” who has to answer in court. Despite the increasing number of incidents, such extreme cases are rare.
Jean Claude RaemyEditor Economics
They are one of the biggest annoyances in modern aviation: the “unruly passengers”. In other words, rowdy passengers who, due to their behavior, disturb order on the plane or at the airport and, in the worst case, even pose a security risk.
Scheduled airlines must report serious incidents to the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (Bazl). In Switzerland, this applies to Swiss, Edelweiss, Helvetic Airways, Chair Airlines and Easyjet Switzerland. The current figures from the Bazl are available at a glance. In most cases, problem passengers violate Art. 91 of the Aviation Act: for example, by smoking in the aircraft toilet, disobeying orders from the cabin crew or disturbing order through conspicuous and abusive behavior. But the Corona measures also regularly caused trouble on the planes.
In particularly serious cases, the FOCA opens administrative penal proceedings. The Bazl reports the following figures for the last five years:
| Year | Total incidents reported by airlines | Proceedings opened |
| 2018 | 849 | 20 |
| 2019 | 1357 | 57 |
| 2020 | 425 | 38 |
| 2021 | 748 | 48* |
| 2022 | 1340 | 19* |
*According to the Bazl, “a number of cases” are still pending for 2021 and 2022 due to clarifications with airlines, requests for legal assistance and more.
More incidents, but at a low level
“Unfortunately, not only the number of reported incidents, but also the number of criminal proceedings opened is increasing,” says Bazl spokesman Christian Schubert. The fact that the numbers in 2020 and 2021 are comparatively low has to do with the reduced flight activity due to Corona. But although in 2022 the available seat capacities of the Swiss airlines had not yet reached the level of 2019, the numbers for the incidents and probably also for the procedures are back to the previous level.
Many incidents had to do with the refusal to wear a mask. This has now become superfluous with the lifting of a general mask requirement in air traffic. But the “chaos summer of 2022” with many flight cancellations, delays and irritated passengers also drove the number of cases up. And then there were the smokers. “There is a lot more smoking in the airplane toilet than many people think,” says Swiss spokeswoman Karin Montani. But she puts it into perspective: “In view of the millions of passengers carried, the number of reported incidents is very low.”
At Helvetic Airways, there were no incidents on their own flights, says spokesman Simon Benz. This may also have something to do with the fact that Helvetic does not operate any connecting flights, unless it flies on behalf of Swiss. And there have been a few incidents. If the passengers threaten to miss their connecting flights, some of them are on edge.
Various reasons for defaults
The airlines and the Bazl are cautious when interpreting the reasons. Alcohol certainly plays a role, as does stress. However, weather events are just as possible as the much-cited “brutalization of society”, so the tenor.
Recalcitrant passengers quickly receive a lot of attention via social media, which distorts the perception of the problem.
But Swiss takes the problem seriously, says Montani. If a passenger resists, there are three escalation levels at Swiss: a verbal warning, a written warning from the captain and finally information to the authorities. The latter case leads to an obligation to report to the Bazl. In severe cases, the passenger will be escorted off the plane by the police.
Very few procedures
It is astonishing that there are very few procedures in relation to the incidents. Bazl spokesman Schubert: “Many incidents are not followed up by the Bazl because they are not relevant to security.” These are, for example, insults to the cabin crew or a refusal to wear a mask. Smoking in the toilet, on the other hand, is a safety issue.
In addition, some reported incidents cannot be followed up because the passengers live abroad or the Bazl does not have detailed data. But that’s exactly what shouldn’t happen: In order to prevent such cases or acts of terrorism, the EU has drawn up mandatory guidelines. According to this, airlines have to record the passenger data completely and also forward it to the Bazl. According to Schubert, however, this does not always happen completely.
Tab buses
As Schubert goes on to explain, violations are punishable by fines of between CHF 400 and CHF 1,000. The law actually says that up to 20,000 francs can be due. Schubert admits that the fines in other countries such as the USA or France reach “completely different dimensions”. The FAA, for example, can claim up to $37,000. One passenger even had to pay $76,000.
According to Schubert, a meeting between the Bazl and airlines is planned for this year. It will also deal with the topic of tightening of buses. The ultimate goal is to reduce even the small number of incidents as much as possible.