機内きないにおける泥酔でいすい乗客じょうきゃくの迷惑行為めいわくこうい――解決かいけつを阻はばむ構造的こうぞうてき要因よういんと責任せきにんの所在しょざいをめぐって

American freelance journalist Amelia Mullers faced a situation this year when she boarded a night flight from Chicago to Los Angeles and found that the man sitting next to her was drunk.

Right after this man sat down and the plane left the gate, he rushed to the restroom and vomited heavily, so the airport cleaning staff had to be called. In the end, the man was taken off the plane and the flight departed one hour late.

Such disruptive behavior is not uncommon on airplanes, and many passengers have experienced similar situations.

Professor Lynne M. Vieraitis of the University of Texas at Dallas analyzed recently reported cases of passenger trouble and found that alcohol was a common factor in almost all cases.

Professor Cheryl Skaggs, from the same university as Professor Vielaitis, categorized 1,600 reports submitted to the American Aviation Safety Reporting System ASRS into groups such as insults, violence, and sexual harassment. Among all these groups, cases related to alcohol overwhelmingly accounted for the majority.

According to a survey conducted by the Institute of Alcohol Studies in the UK targeting British adults, 60% of respondents said they had encountered drunk passengers on airplanes, and 51% considered drunk passengers to be a serious problem.

Although problems caused by drunken passengers are widely recognized in society, there is still no consensus on which organizations should be responsible for taking countermeasures.

Reports to the ASRS are mainly submitted by pilots, gate staff, and cabin crew, but according to Professor Vieraitis, cabin crew members feel that even when they report incidents, they do not receive sufficient support or response from the company.

In the unique working environment at 30,000 feet, removing a drunk passenger is not as easy as it is in a bar on the ground.

Even though there are trained cabin crew members, having to deal with violent passengers while also serving meals and ensuring safety checks is just too much of a burden.

The reasons why passengers drink alcohol on airplanes vary: to ease anxiety caused by a fear of flying, to make it easier to sleep, or even because flight delays lead them to drink more than planned.

Furthermore, due to the dry air and changes in air pressure on the plane, alcohol can affect your body more quickly, and many people may not realize that they are getting drunk.

Furthermore, the decline in service quality, such as smaller seats and overhead compartments, has increased passenger dissatisfaction, and when combined with alcohol, it can lead to dangerous situations.

In fact, in Mr. Müllers case, although the cabin crews handling on site was highly praised, there was some dissatisfaction among the crew that they had not been informed in advance by the gate staff about the drunk passenger.

Differences in opinions regarding the scope of responsibility are hindering smooth troubleshooting.

The airline has repeatedly requested bars and restaurants in the airport to restrict alcohol consumption before boarding.

For example, Ryanair, a low-cost airline in Ireland, believes it is unfair for airports to pursue profits from alcohol sales while shifting responsibility for safety issues onto airlines, and is calling for stricter regulations on alcohol consumption at airports and before boarding.

Current CEO Michael OLeary also believes that there is a direct connection between the use of alcohol or drugs and incidents of violence on board, and is proposing to limit drinking at airports to a maximum of two drinks.

In the United States, disruptive behavior on airplanes falls under the jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration FAA. In 2022, there was a case where a person was fined a record amount of about $82,000 approximately 12.8 million yen for acts of violence against flight attendants and other passengers.

Airlines also have the right to refuse boarding to certain passengers, but the reason why the airline industry is generally not proactive about restricting alcohol is because alcohol is one of the main sources of revenue for airlines and airports.

On the other hand, there is growing public support for restrictions on drinking at airports and alcohol testing before boarding. According to a survey by the Institute of Alcohol Studies, 67% support restrictions on drinking at airports, and 64% support alcohol testing before boarding.

In order to fundamentally resolve the disruptive behavior caused by intoxicated passengers on board, it is essential for the parties involved to coordinate their opinions regarding responsibilities and economic interests. This is not a simple issue that can be solved by straightforward rules alone, but rather an undeniably complex structural challenge.