Flight Crews Air Concerns About Unruly Passengers

WASHINGTON — Unruly, often intoxicated passengers are causing dangerous in-flight disturbances, and the problem will probably worsen as planes and airports become more crowded, pilots and flight attendants said Wednesday.

The cockpit and cabin crews called on unions, companies, law enforcement agencies and the Federal Aviation Administration to join together to take tough action.

They told a conference on Disruptive Airline Passengers, held Wednesday in Washington, that incidents included assaults on pilots and flight attendants, attempts to break into cockpits and, in one extreme case, a passenger defecating on a food trolley.

In some cases, in-flight handcuffs were used and abusive passengers were arrested when the plane landed.

Randolph Babbitt, president of the Air Line Pilots Assn., sponsor of the conference, said the incidents were not only a threat to crew members but also to passengers.

He said cases of disruptive behavior would probably increase in the coming years as passenger traffic doubles and planes become more crowded.

He added that often airlines have been reluctant to prosecute passengers, worrying about the impact on marketing and public relations.

But Kathy Lord-Jones, safety coordinator of the Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants, a union at American Airlines, said the carrier’s policy now was to press police to file criminal charges and to support crew members if they wanted to file civil charges.