Aviation organisations join forces to curb growth in unruly passenger behaviour – Joint campaign uses the slogan “Put yourself in flight mode”

Unruly passenger behaviour is clearly becoming more frequent in the aviation sector, with incidents increasing by 20–30 per cent each year in Finland and across Europe from 2018 to 2025. A wide range of key aviation organisations and authorities are working together to reduce these incidents, including the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, IATA, Finavia, the Police of Finland, Finnish Customs, Fintraffic, Finnair, Norra, Norwegian, Airpro and Aviator. The organisations have adopted a joint declaration to raise awareness of the rules that support smooth air travel. 

“With the declaration, we wish to express our shared concern over the situation, draw attention to the phenomenon and engage in active cooperation to reduce unruly behaviour. Every incident of unruly behaviour is one too many,” says Jari Pöntinen, Director-General of Civil Aviation at Traficom. 

99.9 per cent of air passengers follow the rules – but a few disrupt the experience for many

 Every passenger is responsible for following the rules at airports and on board aircraft. This is the key message of the campaign “Put yourself in flight mode”. 

“Being in flight mode means that a passenger is in an appropriate physical and mental state to travel, shows respect for fellow passengers and complies with flight safety regulations and staff instructions. While the vast majority of passengers – 99.9 per cent – comply with rules and instructions, there are unfortunately some who are inconsiderate of others. These individuals are few, but their actions have an impact on other passengers and staff,” says Kaarlo Karvonen, head of security at Finnair. 

Every passenger, and each airport staff or cabin crew member, has the right to travel and work in a safe environment, free from disruptive behaviour. “As the aviation community, we must ensure a safe and enjoyable travel experience for all passengers and a safe working environment for all airport staff and aircrew members. To achieve this, we are developing and implementing best practices to prevent and manage incidents of unruly behaviour,” says Pia Fast, head of communications at Finavia.

Unruly behaviour involves intoxication, smoking and failure to follow rules

Unruly behaviour frequently involves excessive alcohol consumption, smoking on board and failure to comply with flight safety rules, for example. “Unfortunately, not everyone understands that it is never acceptable to ignore the instructions given by crew during a flight and that such behaviour has consequences,” says Chief Inspector Harri Vihola from Eastern Uusimaa Police.

Most situations involving unruly behaviour can be resolved by speaking with the passenger. Staff training is essential to ensure that unruly passengers are handled efficiently and safely. Training includes conflict management and de-escalation techniques to defuse heated situations. The goal is to enforce a zero-tolerance policy.

“Reducing and preventing inappropriate behaviour on the ground and in the air is a shared mission across the entire industry, as it benefits everyone. We support all employees in this work and monitor all incidents,” says Jari Pöntinen, Director-General of Civil Aviation at Traficom.

Every incident of unruly behaviour is reported and may result in intervention by the relevant authorities, removal from the aircraft, a written warning or a flight ban, the duration of which depends on the severity of the action. Unruly behaviour may also result in liability for costs and damages or criminal sanctions for violations against the Aviation Act.

According to section 59 of the Aviation Act, passengers may not compromise the safety of a flight, its crew or other passengers through their actions, and they must obey any commands issued by the crew to maintain safety and order during the flight.