Airlines to threaten drunk passengers with £80,000 fine

A new crackdown on drunken airline passengers will be launched today with nine UK airports issuing warnings over traveller behaviour.

The move comes on the busiest day of the year for flights in the UK, with 8,841 aircraft taking off and landing, as millions embark on their summer holidays.

The government-backed One Too Many campaign will see travellers warned that they face a fine and life ban from certain airlines if they cause trouble on flights.

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At present, “passengers found to be drunk on a plane can be fined £5,000 and jailed for two years for breaching air navigation orders”, reports The Times. But they may also have to pay up to £80,000 “to cover the cost of diverting a flight if the plane is forced into an emergency landing”, adds the paper.

The campaign will see airlines, airports, shops and police identify inebriated passengers attempting to board planes to and from the UK, and issue them with warnings.

Figures from the Civil Aviation Authority show that 417 flights “were endangered by abusive and violent travellers last year, more than double the total five years earlier”, says Travel Weekly. Airlines say that the true number of incidents may be far higher as only the most serious cases are logged by the CAA.

Some airlines have also threatened to ban drunk passengers from travelling in future. Last month, Jet2, a budget carrier, “imposed a life ban on a drunken man who abused other passengers and forced the Belfast to Ibiza flight to divert to Toulouse”, says Bristol Live.

Launching the campaign, Francois Bourienne, chair of the UK Travel Retail Forum said: “It is an offence to be drunk on a plane. Not least to other passengers.

“The One Too Many campaign is to remind people of the consequences of irresponsible drinking at any stage of their journey and to highlight the fact that, while serious disruptive behaviour remains rare, it can be costly and cause delays.”