Airlines May Blacklist Violent Passengers for Life

Airlines are drawing up plans for a blacklist of potentially deadly “air rage” passengers who would be banned from flights worldwide, industry executives said Monday.

“Airlines and holiday companies worldwide must act together to ground for life anyone who acts violently,” Virgin Atlantic Airways Chairman Richard Branson said. “It needs draconian measures like that to make people think twice before they behave in that manner on planes.”

Calls for a crackdown have been sparked by a 400% jump in incidents of air rage in the industry during the last three years.

The chief culprits are drunken and abusive passengers and people who angrily defy smoking bans.

Moves to set up a passenger blacklist were given renewed impetus after British Airtours stewardess Fiona Weir was hit over the head and slashed with a broken vodka bottle.

British Airways said it was among a group of leading international airlines working with the International Air Transport Assn. on the introduction of a known-offenders register.

Virgin Atlantic and Airtours said they were cooperating on moves to set up a blacklist.

In August, British Airways launched a “yellow card” warning system. It hands out notices telling offenders they could face arrest on touchdown and be liable for costs if their behavior forced the aircraft to divert to the nearest airport.

The airline said its employees, who are given paid time off to attend court, dealt with 260 disruptive passengers last year, mostly for violations of the no-smoking rules.

British Transport Minister John Reid, who has called a meeting of British airlines to discuss the issue, said: “Although attacks of this kind are extremely rare, the government takes them very seriously. Such behavior is totally unacceptable.”