Airport police report spike in incidents involving violent and disruptive behaviour by passengers

The spate of bad behaviour by airline passengers has continued over the Easter period, with Australian Federal Police called out to more than 200 incidents in four days at nine major airports.

The spate of bad behaviour by airline passengers has continued over the Easter holiday period, with Australian Federal Police called out to more than 200 incidents over four days at nine major airports.

The 217 incidents amounted to a 16 per cent increase on the same time last year, and included physical assaults on police, security guards and airline crew; drunken, disruptive behaviour and possession of drugs and other prohibited items.

In one of the worst cases, a 44-year-old woman from Western Australia was charged with multiple offences after arriving in Sydney from New Zealand.

Airline crew asked for police help to remove the woman from the flight, after she allegedly abused flight attendants, physically and verbally, during the service.

It’s alleged she then attacked two officers, clawing at their arms, leaving them with scratches.

The woman faced court in Sydney on Tuesday.

At Adelaide airport, a 27-year-old man was taken into police custody on charges of assault and threatening to kill a security guard in the screening area.

He was granted bail and ordered to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court on June 10.

AFP detective acting superintendent Angy Polic said police had prepared for a significant increase in travellers through airports over Easter and the potential challenges that came with them.

“Our officers dealt with a range of matters from individuals in possession of prohibited items to aggressive passengers failing to comply with safety requirements,” Superintendent Polic said.

“We are here to protect the travelling public, and we won’t hesitate to act when disruptive or violent behaviour crosses a line.”

She said most travellers did behave appropriately but there was “always a small number of individuals who will put the safety and security of others at risk”.

“The AFP will not tolerate disruptive or inappropriate behaviour, which has the potential to lead to serious consequences such as criminal charges, significant fines, travel bans or imprisonment,” she said.

“If you are abusive or demonstrate violent, criminal behaviour at airport terminals or during a flight — you will be stopped before boarding or removed from your flight.”

She also thanked those passengers who were “patient, considerate and respectful” to airport and airline staff during their travels.

It was not only Australian airports seeing a rise in bad behaviour by passengers, with inappropriate and unlawful behaviour disrupting flights worldwide, on an almost daily basis.

In one of the more bizarre incidents, a first class passenger on a Delta flight from Atlanta to Tokyo had to be told to put his pants on, after he removed them, exposing himself to other travellers.

A mother with a toddler raised the alarm after returning from the toilet to find the male passenger across the aisle was half naked.

It’s understood he had consumed about seven glasses of wine in the first few hours of the flight, which the captain threatened to divert to Alaska if the passenger did not comply with crew instructions to get dressed.

Once he retrieved his pants from the overhead locker, no further action was taken against the man, who was permitted to disembark in Tokyo.

Originally published as Airport police report spike in incidents involving violent and disruptive behaviour by passengers