The man in his thirties on this flight operated by Delta Airlines was arrested and then charged.
New example of incivility on board a plane which caused the aircraft to be diverted. This Wednesday, a Delta Airlines flight aboard an Airbus A330-300 between Paris-Atlanta was forced to land in Dublin to disembark an unruly passenger.
According to the company's report, the traveler caused a commotion and disturbance in the cabin which prompted the crew to make a stopover in Ireland after an hour and a half of flight.
During this unannounced stopover, the passenger was arrested by the Irish authorities and charged. The plane then returned to the United States.
A Delta spokesperson said the airline has “zero tolerance for unruly behavior and will work with law enforcement authorities to this end.” “We apologize to our customers for the delay in their travel,” the statement continued.
It must be said that incivility on board planes has increased since the covid crisis. Just last week, a passenger on an American Airlines flight from Milwaukee to Dallas attempted to open the plane's door mid-flight.
Already nearly 1,900 incidents reported by American companies
On American companies alone, 1,854 incidents reported this year to the Federal Aviation Administration.
In 2023, just over 400 enforcement actions were initiated and $7.5 million in fines were issued to these passengers.
The problem is actually global. According to figures from IATA, the International Air Transport Association, in 2021 there were an incident (incivility, indiscipline, insults, etc.) for 835 thefts, in 2022, this figure increased to one in 568, an increase of 47%.
Alcohol abuse is often cited as main cause of these incivilities. For Michael O'Leary, the boss of Ryanair, now is the time to crack down. In an interview with Telegraphhe demands that airport bars limit the sale of alcohol to passengers to two drinks.
“It's not so easy for airlines to identify drunk people at the boarding gate, especially if they're boarding with two or three other people. As long as they can get up and move around, they'll pass Then, when the plane takes off, we see their misbehavior,” he explains.
“We don't allow people to drive drunk, and yet we continue to put them on planes at 33,000 feet,” he continues.
Olivier Chicheportiche Journalist BFM Business
