Speaking at the Jet2holidays VIP conference in Antalya (November 26-29), Jet2.com and Jet2holidays chief executive said the problem was still growing, despite Jet2’s efforts to force change and support from across the industry, including other airlines such as Ryanair.
However, Heapy said it was incumbent on the government and the airports to take decisive action.
Heapy said Jet2 was seeking a restriction on airport drinking hours and “some control” over duty free as well.
“We’re not trying to spoil people’s fun,” said Heapy. “But we are flying a metal tube 11km above the Earth’s surface at 550mph. We have to operate a safe environment.
“Passenger disruption is an increasing problem. Any disruption can jeopardise the flight. We’re just calling for some restraint, in the airport and at duty free.”
Jet2 launched its Onboard Together campaign in 2015 but admitted earlier this year it had failed to adequately curb incidents of disruptive behaviour.
The airline has since called for more industry-wide action and has made submissions to the government on the issue.
Its proposals include sealed duty free bags and more rigorous licensing standards at airports, including a drink limit linked to passengers’ boarding passes. Heapy singled out, in particular, duty free shops selling “miniatures” which can easily be taken on board and consumed.
Proactive steps taken by Jet2 include restricting passengers to three or four drinks once onboard, and not serving alcohol before 8am. “This has had some positive impact,” he said.
Earlier this year, the CAA warned 2018 would likely hit record highs for reported incidents of in-flight disruptive, violent and drunken behaviour, with statistics to show such incidents have quadrupled over the past five years.
According to the CAA, there were 98 such incidents in 2013, rising to 145 in 2014, 195 in 2015, 415 in 2016 and 417 in 2017. But there had already been 202 incidents in 2018 during the year to July 16, putting the industry on course to top 417 this year.
“Everyone likes a drink at the airport,” said Heapy. “But we like people to drink responsibly. They have three or four drinks and feel alright but once they get up in the air, alcohol is absorbed quicker and they get intoxicated quicker.
“We are still fighting this. We want the government to be involved, but Brexit has brought everything else to a grinding halt. When we have disruptive passengers, if their behaviour is really bad, we will ban them. We don’t want them on our aircraft. They are not welcome.”
