Crackdown on anti-social behaviour launched
30.09.07
Fly-on-the-wall TV shows featuring angry airline passengers confronting airline staff have sparked an upsurge in abuse on staff at Norwich Airport, it has been claimed. The Eastern Daily Press reports that shows such as BBC's "Airport" are partly to blame for more people flying off the handle, as footage of volatile confrontations on screen are misconstrued as the normal way to settle disputes and problems at airports.
Front-line staff who have witnessed death threats and been on the receiving end of drunken abuse spoke out as the airport joined with the police to launch a zero-tolerance crackdown on violent and aggressive behaviour at Norwich Airport.
Colourful posters around the terminal warn passengers that they could be prevented from travelling that day, banned from future flights and prosecuted. The airport's managing director, Richard Jenner, said he hoped the high-profile crackdown would make people stop and think before they act.
He said: 'It's become evident over a period of time that we are dealing with more incidents of passengers being abusive or rude to our staff and indeed sometimes threatening them.'
Jon Dewing, operations duty manager, said incidents happened on a regular basis - particularly if a flight was held up. He told the newspaper: 'Sometimes it can be the people you would least expect, such as businessmen who bang on the check-in desk and bully the young woman until she cries. I step in and ask if they would like someone to speak to their daughter like that, and it normally calms them down.'
He said he had seen a change since Airport, a prime-time programme which was set at Heathrow and ran for about 10 years from the mid-90s. 'They've seen so many people getting angry during half an hour of edited footage from a week or more at the airport and think it's the norm if you want to get your way.'
Chief Insp. Kevin Clarke said all airports had reported an increase in incidents, and although it had not been a dramatic rise police and airports had decided to tackle it.
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