Unruly Passengers
The majority of aviation cases involve passengers misbehaving on board aircraft. Tackling these unruly passengers is a priority of the PPS.
Unruly passengers are a growing problem internationally. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) stated in a 2023 campaign that this ‘threatens the safety of a flight in the EU every three hours’. In the national safety analysis of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, unruly passengers emerge as one of the main risks for commercial aviation. The Dutch Aviation Safety Action Plan therefore stipulates that reducing incidents involving these passengers is a priority.
The PPS has been working on measures in this area since spring 1999 within the so-called 'Platform Unruly Passengers' with parties such as the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Royal Military Police, the airlines, Schiphol Airport and the trade unions. This platform is working on measures to reduce incidents involving unruly passengers. For instance, in consultation with the PPS, the Royal Military Police has developed forms to make it easier to report and make statements about misbehaviour on board aircraft. Airlines support their employees in reporting or making a statement. For example, they do not have to do this on their spare time. Following the example of a number of other countries, the PPS, together with the other parties within the Platform, reinforced the priority of (continuing) the joint approach by signing a declaration of intent on 14 December 2023. Read more in this press release from the PPS.
It is good to realise that passenger misbehaviour is not just about on-board violence. Of course, that does have the biggest impact on flight safety. But even lighter matters can have a substantial impact, such as not following instructions given by or on behalf of the captain. Examples include harassing other passengers, smoking on board or failing to remain seated during the 'fasten seat belts' signal. These matters can also affect safety because, for example, cabin crew cannot carry out normal safety tasks for a certain period of time or a pilot has to leave the cockpit to do so. In principle, the PPS acts against all these cases. The principles for criminal response are set out in the Guideline for Criminal Proceedings in Aviation Legislation [VA(N1] .
[VA(N1]Link