Disruptive Passenger Behaviour and Air Rage - Essay Example

? Disruptive Passenger Behaviour and Air Rage Disruptive Passenger Behaviour and Air Rage Introduction The dilemma of disorderly passage conduct or what has come to be known as air rage has been a prevalent problem over the years. However, in the last twenty years, the seriousness of the cases has increased tremendously forcing governments, airport authorities and other stakeholders to take action to mitigate the problem. This disruptive behaviour has been witnessed in all socio-economic groups: the young, old, women, men, or business and economy passengers. According to Hunter (2009) air rage is by far the “greatest threat to the safety and security of the 1.5 billion passengers who travel by air each year, because even one small incidence that disables airline safety systems or distracts the pilot at a crucial moment could bring down an entire airliner” (Hunter 2008, p. 8). There is no official or recognized definition of air rage, but the most common accepted one is that it is a violent behaviour exhibited by a person during flight (Price & Forrest 2008, p. 277). This behaviour might stem from a passenger who refuses to obey safety requirements to verbal exchange or physical confrontations directed towards airline staff. According to several researchers, air rage incidences have increased over 400 percent worldwide and that most of the cases are not even reported. General Causes of Observed Increase in Air Rage According to Post and Anderson (2008, p. 208), air transport has become one of the fastest growing business in the world. In order to meet the adversity and the imminent growth of the airline industry, worldwide standardisation has enhanced the efficiency in its operations. The major airlines in the industry have adopted the worldwide standardisation in an attempt to establish their operations through code share contracts which are the best in the market. The cabin crew, ground handling personnel, and the pilots are generally harmonised by the stipulated regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as well as other established legal frameworks that are mandated by the National Aviation Authorities. The legal frameworks are more or less reflective of the current standards of ICAO. For instance, with regard to the standard on the draft passenger weight configured in the charter passenger of 75 kilograms, the seat configuration in terms of the distance to the forward located seat and the estimated time of flight is acceptable and should remain the same everywhere. As such, the seating distance on the long-range flights should be always wider than those on the continental flights. However, each of the low cost carrier and airline alliance are always interested in the availability of the huge number of passengers on board per annum. These have enhanced the ease in calculation of the ticket prices. Consequently, in an attempt to be cost effective, each airport needs to have a huge passenger turnout. The revenue outlay that will be collected from the huge amount of passengers will ensure that they meet the obligations and optimize passenger amounts and payloads according to the demand of the airline industry and tourism. The airport industry is currently aiming at optimizing the process that involves check-in procedures, transfer procedures and the constant development of new facilities to streamline the system and accommodate the increased number of passengers who travel everyday. With regard to the limited space available, the calculated turnover of passengers have caused utilisation of newer airport concepts which are configured based on the related participation and headcount on each of the sold tickets, security fee, airport fee, party handling fee, and parking fee among others. Ideally, a number of causes of air rage have been proposed. As is always true when analysing any form of behaviour, no single cause accounts for all incidents of air rage. Rather, a multifaceted approach is necessary to account for most incidents. These causes can be grouped into physical factors, airline industry problems and personal factors. Even though alcohol is not an issue in many cases, it is perhaps the biggest physical factor. In a study conducted by Hunter (2008), one third of all aggressive incidents in airplanes could be attributed to alcohol. A study of disruptive passenger behaviour conducted by Price et al. (2008) found similar results, claiming that alcohol was a factor in one-third of all serious incidents they examined. We know that alcohol lowers inhibitions and makes aggression more likely. One does not have to be legally intoxicated to have lowered inhibitions. Even one drink can have that effect, especially if the individual has an empty stomach and is already prone to aggressive behaviour. In addition, the passenger’s personality is a sure cause of air rage in cases of delay in departure of the aircraft. The unrealistic expectations before passengers start for the airport dooms them to disappointment and also accounts for outrage. Not only is air travel less luxurious than it used to be, it is less luxurious than airlines claim it is now. Sophisticated elegant advertisements usually feature smiling, satisfied customers, sitting in semi-reclined position, while enjoying a glass of champagne. The passenger are always pictured to be gazing over an epicurean delight of some type, nestled on the fine china plate presented on the linen table cover. The reality is a lot less tasteful for the average airline as it is deemed expensive to undertake these operations. The passengers need to be knowledgeable of the airline procedures regardless of how each airline’s procedures differ. It is expected of them to be able to communicate effectively with employees and to be completely compliant with all safety and airline rules imposed. They are supposed to maintain alertness at all times to briefings to stay completely non-confrontational, and to be unaffected by fears, and any of the effects of alcohol or tobacco withdrawals. As such, the passengers are expected to remain unaffected by stress, fatigue and any physical discomfort and to be patient with lack of information, while remaining cordial with airline personnel. Passengers should remain seated with seat belts fastened throughout the flight regardless of the duration of the flight, especially when given such instruction. Crewmembers are usually aware of the incredible pressures passengers face and the often unrealistic expectations they demand from them; however, these factors are easy to overlook during day-to-day operations. An understanding of passenger frustrations may well be the first step in dealing with irate passengers. To ‘understand’ does not mean one should have to be verbally abused or physically attacked. Flight crews should exemplify what is good and honourable in how they treat the passengers who trust them with their lives. A typical situation might be, when an individual, who is slightly overweight and slightly late for the normal check-in at the airport is stressed due to the tiresome, standardised checks. There are three levels of passengers’ behaviour, to wit: Reasons for Passenger Air Rage The behaviour of passengers is always related to personal stress, expectations, prior experience, misunderstandings and communication errors. According to Kottler and Chen (2008), stress has different connotations with different people. To some, it might mean breakdown of life while to others it might be just a minor annoyance that can be wished away or dealt with appropriately. To other people, it presents an opportunity to excel in a variety of areas. In short, some people fall apart, some are able to manage it and others do not seem to notice it in the first place (Kottler & Chen 2008, p. 8). Therefore, the definition of stress involves the physical, mental and emotional response. Stress is highly personal and needs a delicate balance between the individual and the resources available to deal with it. As a result, it can be argued that a mixture of stress and loss of one’s control could lead to air rage situations. This being the case, the following would be some of the triggers of air rage. Passenger rudeness and non-compliance is often not a deliberate attempt to undermine crewmembers authority. Hostility can be a symptom of a host of emotions. Fear of flying, loss of control, fatigue, and personal and environmental stresses are common experiences associated with air travel. Cabin crews reading the rules in front of passengers could risk escalation of hostility and aggression. Passengers can be expected to become defensive to cover their embarrassment. It is therefore important for crewmembers to understand this reaction in order to better deal with a similar situation (Dahlberg 2005). A sense of helplessness relates to a person’s inability to change his or her conditions. The resultant treatment of authority with hostility or anger may be triggered by the image of the crewmembers that is perceived to possess more power. Being prepared for a hostile response should lower the natural defensive counter-reaction of the crewmember, whereas a negative aggressive reaction by the flight crewmember could escalate the situation further. Although the crewmembers do not condone it, the unfortunate reality is that being insulted by rude passengers is part of being a flight attendant (Bor & Hubbard 2006). Understanding this beforehand, flight crews will be better mentally prepared for the inevitable insults that result from the many stressors encountered by the passengers. In most cases, stress is highly individual and is defined by an imbalance between the demands by individuals and the resources that are available in coping with those demands. Pre-Flight Phase Physiological and Psychological Stress Factors As explained earlier, air rage is closely related to stress. It is a reaction that people produce when they are subjected to stress, which might be physical or psychological. For instance, a cold or stomach problem does not give people a good feeling when travelling. If the passenger is a frequent traveller or a business person and faced with such a serious illness will subject him or her to either make a decision on whether to pursue travel or not. In most cases, the decision taken is in favour of going as one analyzes the financial loss that may be incurred upon failure to do so. The limited psychological fitness may be attributed to the disruptive passenger behaviour. With regard to the above example, financial loss accompanied by new domestic problems will eventually create a higher level of stress to the passenger (Hunter 2009). In an attempt to combat such a crisis, the passenger needs to be advised to remain calm until he or she reaches the final destination. With regard to mental health and the physiological health, they are the cornerstone factors that have played a significant role during the pre-flight phase. The physiological trauma is attributed to mismanagement of time, orientation problems, delays and lack of knowledge relating to the airport procedures as they become disruptive in the overall passenger undertakings. Generally, in this phase the psychological and physiological stress affecting the passengers are caused by the long wait in the airport lines, mishandling of the carry-on baggage and security checks, and the crowded airports due to increase in the number of passengers who prefer air transport (Books 2010). In addition, incorrect information that is received by the passenger, ground crew inappropriate behaviour, last minutes delays and changes, and the ultimate excessive use of alcohol can also trigger passenger stress. In-Flight Phase As soon as the passengers are on-board, the stress inflicting procedures or experiences from the previous flights come into being. Seating arrangements and the passenger’s closeness to overweight passenger, an indirect obligation to vehemently accept the distance between the leg and the forward located seat, the psychological problems, and even dehydration may lead to stress during flight. Generally disruptive passengers have provided reasons for unruly behaviour as soon as they board the plane or aircraft (Thomas 2006). This includes problems associated with the Airline Flight Handling, inconveniency in the Cabin Seating or rejection of the upgrade request, and the expectations of the passengers may be high than the reality. In addition, diversions and missing of the connecting flights by the passengers due to the delays and the associated long security checks, and the misbehaviour and attitude of the cabin crewmembers can lead to this adversity (Bor & Hubbard 2006). Contrary to this, alcohol abuse is considered an effective way of mitigating the fear of flight by many passengers on board; this should be taken seriously by the cabin crewmembers and advice the passengers accordingly. Most of the passengers experience a fear of flight; therefore they try to induce themselves with irrelevant and incorrect medication and even alcohol. The passengers’ mood usually starts to change on the ground and continues during the flight. The electronic devices should not be used by passengers during take-off and landing. This is a strategy that the cabin crewmembers undertake in order to prepare the passengers psychologically. At least some of the passengers on board may experience a latent claustrophophic habits characterized by mixture of fear that may lead to dangerous disruptive passenger behaviour. As such, the cabin crew usually provides an announcement and strict advice at take-off and during landing. Post-Flight Phase The passengers stress is normally caused by the long waiting period at the Customs clearance, which has been perceived to be a normal phenomenon in every destination. As such, the clearance usually takes approximately 3 to 4 hours after the passengers have already been in a 6 to 8 hours flight. In addition, the misplacement of the passengers’ baggage or damage of the baggage can effectively lead to disruptive behaviour just after the flight (Bor 2006). Such memory will always be left in the passengers’ memory and will support an escalation in the next flight that he or she will undertake. Prevention and Management of Air Rage Pre-Flight Continuous communication and the relying of information to the passengers by the cabin crewmembers have been perceived to be a proactive approach to curb the pre-flight air rage. The industry needs to provide immense information and feedback to the passengers’ complaints and the strategies undertaken so as to prevent the repeat of the challenges the passengers faced, and it should be on a continuous basis. The information provided by the industry should also address the safety and comfortability of the passengers during their flight. The induced online booking of a flight and the consulting work imminent from the airlines enables to passengers to have a realistic expectation (Thomas 2006). Aircraft operators and airport management should continue training the ground staff in order to acquire knowledge on the phenomenon of “air rage” as every undertaking in regard to pre-flight may induce air rage to the passengers. The security checks should be timely and convenient to the passengers and this will be aided by the effective risk based security system. In-Flight Air rage should be taken to be one of the most important topics related to the resource management trainings of the crew. Understanding the phenomenon, understanding the imminent cause of the phenomenon and the various levels of air rage are vital components in mitigating the adversity of air rage among the passengers (Johnson & Kingshott 2008). In order to prevent unruly passenger incidents, the crew should undertake supervision of the passengers at all given time especially when it comes to check-ins and during boarding, and can refuse to transport any drunken passenger, prevent passengers from drinking excessive alcohol, and ultimately, for the pilot to refuse to take off in case of doubt on the passenger’s behaviour. Post-Flight The airline technical staff should be duly informed about the situation on board and the current status. The decision taken should be communicated to the ground so as to be assured of the police assistance, if need be, and the ground staff immediately after landing (Celentino 2007). Generally, each of the airport or airline has procedures that are established to prevent and manage any form of air rage that may arise. The procedures are usually outlined in the documentation that is approved by the responsible authority. Conclusion Educating both the passengers and the cabin crewmembers is vital in preventing the situations that give rise to air rage. Each of the travellers who use air transport should be well conversant with the triggers, symptoms and outcomes of a disruptive behaviour. A good training imposed to all the stakeholders in the aviation industry will ultimately reduce air rage as the target information will be received by the targeted passengers at the right time. Generally, the implementation of the Safety Management Systems in the field of aviation will ensure that warning signs of various passengers’ psychological stress are recognized immediately and acted upon. This will ensure that fewer instances of air rage will be reported in the airline industry in the future as the industry is continuing with its growth. References Books LLC 2010. Rage: Anger, Wrap Rage, Bike Rage, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Road Rage, Rage Syndrome, Narcissistic Rage, Rage, Jonathan Burton, General Books LLC, Tennessee. Bor R & Hubbard T (eds.) 2006. Aviation Mental Health: Psychological Implications for Air Transportation, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., London. Bor R 2006. Passenger behaviour, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., London. Celentino T 2008. Combating Air Rage, Authorhouse, Bloomington. Dahlberg A 2005. Air Rage: The Underestimated Safety Risk, Ashgate, London. Hunter JA 2008. Anger in the Air: Combating the Air Rage Phenomenon, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., London. Johnson BR & Kingshott B 2008. Safe Overseas Travel: Maximizing Enjoyment by Minimizing Risk, Looseleaf Law Publications, New York. Kottler JA & Chen DD 2008. Stress Management and Prevention: Applications to Daily Life, Thompson Wadsworth, Belmont. Post GV & Anderson DL 2008. Management Information Systems: Solving Business Problems with Information Technology, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., London. Price JC & Forrest JS 2008. Practical Aviation Security: Predicting and Preventing Future Threats, Butterworth-Heinemann, London. Thomas AR 2006. Air rage: crisis in the skies, Prometheus Books, New York. Read More