Unruly passengers

Unruly passengers 2023

In 2023 there were in total 227 incidents regarding unruly passengers at Finnish airports or on board a Finnish aircraft. The number was significantly higher than the average for 2019-2022 (173,5), though slightly lower than in the previous year. When made proportional to the number of operations at Finnish airports, there number of unruly passenger incidents was roughly at the same level as on average in 2019-2022. 

Most incidents occurred on board an aircraft, during the cruise phase of the flight. During previous years, also, most unruly passengers incidents have occurred during the cruise phase. During approach, take off or taxiing these type of incidents happen clearly less often, though last year the number of cases during approach phase was higher than in previous years. 
No particular departure-destination combination could be seen as a hot spot for unruly passenger incidents, rather they occurred across many different routes. 

At airports, most unruly passenger incidents occurred before or during boarding, at the gate or at its proximity.

Clear majority of incidents in Finland occurred at Helsinki airport, due to it being also by far the busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers. 

Event types

Unruly behaviour during flight can be divided into three categories:

1. Largest category is disruptive behaviour (f.ex. verbal abuse, intoxication, smoking). In 2023 there were in total reports of 142 such behaviour. 
2. Another significant event type category is the non-observance of cabin crew or flight crew instructions (ignoring the seat belt indicator light, not following given safety instructions or commands, tampering with safety equipment). 74 such reports were received in 2023.
3. Most serious type of unruly behaviour is physical violence. 11 such incidents were reported in 2023. 

Smoking in the aircraft toilet can cause a fire, which can very serious consequences for the safety of the flight, and at worst lead to loss of control of the flight. These kind of events are discussed in more detail in the loss of control-section (External link). 

At airports, a typical unruly situation involved intoxication or verbal abuse. For example, joking about bomb threats is always taken seriously and any such situation is considered as a concrete threat. Consequences for such talk are often denied boarding and the police being called to the scene (removal from the airport and possibly a fine). 

It is good for the passenger to remember that at the airport and on the plane, everyone is responsible for their own behavior and its possible sanctions. Disruptive behavior cannot and will not be accepted.