Passengers getting more unruly and aggressive, says Air New Zealand

As travellers prepare for the big Christmas escape, and airports and airlines get ready for the crowds, Air New Zealand is asking passengers to remain “courteous” after a noticeable increase in badly behaving flyers. The national carrier said it is facing nearly 200 reports a month of “unacceptable customer behaviour”. Up to 10 passengers each month receive notifications that they are banned from flights “for a range of disruptive and unacceptable behaviours”. Those bans range from 24 hours to permanent. Air New Zealand Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer, David Morgan, said the number and severity of badly behaved travellers is on the rise. “Air New Zealanders who work both on the ground and in the air, work extremely hard to ensure our customers have a safe journey with us, but over the past few years, we’ve seen an increase in some customers not showing them the respect they deserve,” said Morgan. While the vast majority of passengers are “fantastic” and abide by the rules, “there are some people who fly with us who refuse to follow instructions, verbally abuse other people, or are disruptive. We’ve recently also seen instances of people being physically abusive”. “We have zero tolerance for such behaviour and will take action to ensure that abusive customers are no longer able to travel with us if needed to ensure the safety of our team and customers.”<br/>