Conflicting passengers who fly over the sky of the Canary Islands double

Aesa itself warns of the “significant increase” in complaints filed against passengers for incidents arising from inappropriate and conflicting behavior during commercial air transport flights in recent years. In fact, counting only the unwanted passengers who have flown over the Canary Islands up to July of this year (214), the figure recorded throughout 2019 (163) has already been exceeded, a comparison made with that year for having had visitor figures similar to the current one in the absence of a pandemic.

And it is that it is expected that in 2020, the year that the Covid-19 caused the planes to stop circulating through the skies of the Canary Islands, there would be a collapse in complaints. The same thing happened in the first half of 2021. However, last year, 2022, the number of incidents grew significantly, largely due to the opposition that part of the passengers made to the mandatory wearing of a mask on board.

create problems in groups

But the most striking of the numbers provided by the Aesa is that the conflict does not affect all the airports of the Islands equally. Thus, it can be deduced that the “remarkable” increase in incidents on flights to Tenerife South, which on most occasions has involved groups of several passengers, is what explains the increase that has occurred, in general, in the autonomous community of the Canary Islands.

And it is not the same to fly between Islands than to do it from abroad. Most of the problems originate from flights that depart from abroad and are destined for the Canary Islands. In addition, the island airlines themselves consulted by this newspaper deny that this type of situation occurs on their journeys, while the information made public by air traffic controllers includes the name of Jet2, EasyJet or Ryanair as the airlines mainly affected by incidents that they constitute the B side of tourism, the main economic industry of the Canary Islands.

For its part, the public body in charge of air safety highlights that incidents have as a consequence not only delays, but operational interruptions and significant costs for airlines. In addition, in the worst case, disruptive passengers come to pose “a serious threat to the safety of air operations.”

Among the most frequent sources of incidents is alcohol consumption, both before and during the flight. And it is that the taxation of the Canary Islands, being an outermost region, taxes alcoholic beverages more generously than in the rest of Spain and Europe. This means that the Archipelago is seen as an attractive destination for drunken tourism or, simply, those who seek to take a bottle as a souvenir.

Inappropriate behaviors resulting from being under the influence of psychoactive substances have also been reported. These typically include violence against crew and other passengers, harassment, verbal abuse, smoking on board, failure to follow public health and safety instructions, and other forms of unruly behavior.

The usual protocol when there are rioters involves the crew trying to negotiate with them and, if necessary, trying to subdue them or defend themselves. Once on land, these passengers are usually expected by the Civil Guard and the National Police. Not respecting the rest of the passengers and the crew has criminal consequences. According to Law 21/2003, of July 7, on Aviation Safety, inappropriate behavior on board can lead to a fine of up to €5,000.