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UAE to prosecute unruly airline passengers starting May 1

Starting on May 1, UAE authorities will have jurisdiction to prosecute unruly airline passengers who land in the country. This came after the UAE ratified the Montreal Protocol 2014, which resolves a gap in international aviation law on passenger misbehavior onboard flights. The move will make enforcement of stricter penalties for misbehaving or disruptive airline passengers and give UAE authorities new powers in dealing with unruly passengers. Airline staff have bemoaned that passengers can behave in an unruly manner and disrupt flights, but often get away with just a warning. Safety and security are considered the airline industry’s top priorities. However, disruptive passengers have, over the past several years, become more prevalent. In the US, the. Federal Aviation Administration have ordered stricter legal enforcement policy against unruly airline passengers, which includes civil penalties in extreme cases.

Unruly or disruptive behavior while on board an aircraft include:

- Illegal consumption of narcotics - Refusal to comply with safety instructions (not following Cabin Crew requests such as direction to fasten a seat belt, to not smoke, to turn off a portable electronic device or by disrupting the safety announcements) - Verbal confrontation with crew members or other passengers - Physical confrontation with crew members or other passengers - Uncooperative passenger (examples include interfering with the crew’s duties, refusing to follow instructions to board or leave the aircraft) - Making threats of any kind towards the crew, other passengers or the aircraft - Sexual abuse or harassment - Other type of riotous behaviour (examples include: screaming, annoying behavior, kicking and banging heads on seat backs or tray tables) ICA/Expat Media
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