Study Reveals Number of Unruly Air Passengers Increased

Category: Lifestyle/Entertainment

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. unruly / ʌnˈru li / (adj) – hard to control or manage
    Example:

    The teacher felt exhausted after the class because of her unruly students.


  2. subdue / səbˈdu / (v) – to control someone or something using force
    Example:

    The police subdued the two men arguing on the street and took them to the police station.


  3. intoxicated / ɪnˈtɒk sɪˌkeɪ tɪd / (adj) – under the influence of alcohol
    Example:

    On weekends, I often see a lot of intoxicated men and women outside the bar.


  4. charge / tʃɑrdʒ / (v) – to attack someone or something
    Example:

    The angry man at the pub charged at the waiter who refused to serve him more beer.


  5. binge / bɪndʒ / (v) – to drink or eat too much
    Example:

    Party guests binged on champagne.


Article

Read the text below.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released a report about the rise in the number of unruly air passengers.


The study reveals that the number of 2017 incidents in which violent passengers had to be subdued by cabin crew and other people increased by 50% compared to 2016. Most of these incidents involved verbal and physical abuse, and a significant number of them were initiated by intoxicated passengers.


Air rage can cost airlines a lot of money as some incidents may call for emergency landings. One instance happened during a flight to Cancun from Manchester, where a drunk woman charged at a fellow passenger and a crew member. The woman was confirmed to have binged on different alcoholic drinks during the flight.


In order to stop her from misbehaving, the pilots diverted the flight to Quebec City in Canada, where she was arrested and charged for threatening the safety of the aircraft.


Unfortunately, passengers who behave indecently during flights can often get away without any charges when the plane lands. According to international law, a country has no jurisdiction over an incident that took place inside an aircraft from another country, so ground crew are unable to take action in most cases.


Nevertheless, IATA is dedicated to effectively preventing and managing unruly behavior among passengers. They are continuously working with several airlines to train cabin crews. They are also developing and implementing stronger policies such as regulating the service of alcohol.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

• Give other actions that airlines can take to prevent incidents involving unruly passengers.
• Do you think the international law regarding incidents that happen inside aircrafts should be revised? Why or why not?

Discussion B

• How would you describe a good air passenger?
• In your opinion, which etiquette is most likely to be broken by passengers? Why?