Heavy fines and joint blacklists: new tools against passenger violence. Photo illustration: Shutterstock The Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Vincent Karemans, recently submitted an official letter to parliament containing a series of far-reaching measures aimed at eradicating the phenomenon of passenger unrest in the air.
Under the new plan, airlines will receive unprecedented powers that will allow them to impose direct financial fines on passengers who behave inappropriately and disrupt the proper flow of the flight.
The initiative was born against the backdrop of a significant increase in the level of violence on flights, which the minister said has become global. Currently, in the Netherlands alone, between two and three incidents of verbal violence, threats and physical attacks are reported every day during a flight.
KLM reported a 50% increase in the number of incidents in just a few years. Low-cost carrier Transavia is already talking about a more than 150% increase in incidents.
Another key step the minister wants to take is sharing "blacklists" between different airlines. This means that a passenger who is removed from one airline due to riots will find himself blocked from other airlines as well.