Airlines admit they’re struggling to deal with racist passengers

Airlines are finding it hard to clamp down on instances of racism and sexual harassment, with just one in 20 leading to offenders being removed from planes, according to data from the industry’s own trade group. Last year saw 350 reported cases of “inappropriate touching” and racial, homophobic and ageist abuse on flights, the provisional IATA figures show. Police or security officers became involved in only 178 of the incidents, with 141 resulting in nothing more than a warning. And just 17 passengers were taken off the aircraft. Several well-publicised incidents in the past year have led to criticism of airlines, which at times have appeared more concerned with keeping flights on schedule than addressing miscreants. A video showing a white man abusing a black woman sitting close to him on a Ryanair Holdings Plc flight went viral in October, for example, while policies toward harassment have come under increased scrutiny with the rise of the #MeToo campaign. The IATA figures, the first collated on so-called hate crimes on aircraft, come after it has previously focused more on highlighting a jump in drunkenness and violence. The group, which represents close to 300 airlines, says there are some obstacles to the industry improving its record. “There should be zero tolerance to this,” said Tim Colehan, assistant director of external affairs at IATA. “However, it requires people to be willing to report to crew and sometimes for there to be witnesses. And if a country doesn’t have the jurisdiction to intervene the accused will just be released.”<br/>