The situation overview examines cases where passengers have behaved inappropriately or caused a disturbance at an airport or on an aircraft. The information is updated twice a year in Finnish and annually in English. The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom is responsible for producing the information.
Unruly passengers
The International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO defines an unruly passenger as "A passenger who fails to respect the rules of conduct at an airport or on board an aircraft or to follow the instructions of the airport staff or crew members and thereby disturbs the good order and discipline at an airport or on board the aircraft."
In this review, as regards to airports, unruly passengers refer to persons who are arriving or departing at the airport as passengers, not, for example, persons who have come to the airport to escort a passenger or who are otherwise randomly present at the airport.
Unruly passengers 2024
In 2024, 267 cases were reported in which a passenger had behaved in a disruptive manner at a Finnish airport or on a Finnish aircraft. The number increased by almost 20% compared to the previous year. A total of 84 such cases were reported in the last quarter of the year . The average for the years 2019-2023 during the same period was 38 cases, i.e. the number was more than double the average.
Last year, most incidents occurred during the enroute phase of the flight. This was also the most typical phase in previous years. In these situations, the passenger had, for example, behaved in a threatening or disruptive manner or was significantly intoxicated. Disruptions caused by drunkenness in particular continued to increase during the year. Drunkenness combined with failure to follow the crew's instructions is a safety risk for both the person concerned and others on board.
The vast majority of incidents at Finnish airports occurred at Helsinki Airport, as it is also clearly the busiest airport in terms of passenger numbers.
Event types
Disruptive behavior during flight can be divided into three typical manifestations:
- The largest group of these is disruptive behavior (verbal harassment, excessive intoxication, smoking). A total of 150 cases of this type were reported in 2024.
- Another significant type of incident is failure to follow instructions given by the crew (ignoring the seatbelt warning light, failing to follow given safety instructions and orders, tampering with safety equipment). A total of 107 such incidents were reported in 2024.
- The most serious manifestation is physical violence. A total of 10 such cases were reported in 2024.
Smoking in aircraft toilets is also a risk factor for a fire on board the aircraft, the consequences of which can be very serious and, in the worst case, lead to loss of control of the aircraft. The development of these cases has been discussed in more detail in the section on fires and smoke observations.
At airports, a typical situation was related to intoxication or verbal harassment. For example, jokes about bombs are always taken seriously in aviation and the situation is always treated as a real threat. The result of such speech is most often denial of boarding and the police being called (removal from the airport and possibly a fine). The threat of violence has also unfortunately increased during 2024.
Passengers should remember that at the airport and on the plane, they are the only ones responsible for their own behavior and its possible consequences. Disruptive behavior cannot and will not be tolerated.