As the peak summer holiday season gets underway, the UK government is considering a tougher approach to disruptive airline passengers – one that could see unruly travellers banned from flying with any carrier, not just a single airline.
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Under proposals being discussed with the aviation industry, passengers involved in serious incidents such as drunken behaviour, abuse of crew or mid-air violence could be added to a national blacklist, preventing them from booking flights across multiple airlines.
The move comes as carriers report a rise in disruptive behaviour during peak travel periods and argue that current airline-specific bans do little to stop repeat offenders.
The decision is also hot on the heels of a debate surrounding European airports allowing early morning drinking before flights.
As airports effectively exist outside of normal time zones, there are no rules as to when alcohol can or can’t be served.
Last month, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary called to ban the practice, claiming that almost one flight a day on Europe’s busiest airline is diverted due to unruly behaviour.
If the blacklist changes do come into force, it means that passengers who are banned on one airline will no longer be able to book flights with another – effectively an all-out ban.
"Everyone should be able to enjoy a pint at the airport, but antisocial behaviour on flights is totally unacceptable," a government source told the BBC.
"It threatens the safety of passengers and crew, and disrupts hard-earned holidays."
Officials from the British government’s Department for Transport are planning to meet with airlines later this month to discuss the proposal.
It’s thought that the government and the airline industry would manage a national database of banned passengers together.
The proposal is not entirely straightforward, though, as existing data protection laws mean that the sharing of passenger details is not allowed under GDPR, hence why a disruptive passenger banned from one airline is allowed to book with another.
Nevertheless, Airlines UK, a body representing the airline industry, has welcomed the idea, saying it will work alongside the government on developing the proposal.
"Additional measures for the most serious cases of disruption, including the creation of a national ban list, is an important next step, ensuring a tiny minority of passengers cannot disrupt air travel for the majority," a spokesperson for the body told the BBC.