Airlines told to train staff to tackle air rage

CISF IS TRAINING OVER 4,500 STAFF ON HOW TO HANDLE A PASSENGER WHO IS RUDE OR ANGRY

With a spike in cases of air rage, where either a passenger misbehaves with airline staff or vice versa, the Delhi Police want airlines to train their staff in handling such situations.

The move comes days after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulted an Air India staff.

In January, an Indigo passenger had to be tied to his seat during the journey after he turned violent. A few days after that incident, another passenger broke the handle of the emergency gate in a fit of rage.

Last week, a government official was held for creating ruckus on board and then at the police station.

The police want airlines to train their staff in handling such situations politely and patiently.

“We held a meeting before the Shiv Sena MP case happened on March 23, but the meeting is more relevant now, since there have been a lot of complaints. There have also been incidents of air rage and misbehaviour by airlines staff and it has increased in recent months. A number of passengers have complained about misbehaviour by the airlines staff. Airlines have been asked to brief their respective staff to behave in a decent and polite manner with passengers,” DCP (airport) Sanjay Bhatia said.

The Central Industrial security Force (CISF), responsible for security of airports across India, has also started training its personnel on ‘how to handle irate passengers’ at the airport.

Since Delhi airport handles the highest number of passengers and most dignitaries travel from here, the training aims to inform the airport staff about the stress passengers might be facing. “Sometimes there is a language problem with our staff. Or many a times, passengers would be in a bad mood. We have told our staff what kinds of stress a passenger could be under. It could be financial or domestic, but our employees need to remain calm. For this, we are training over 4,500 staff on how to handle a passenger who is rude or angry,” said a senior CISF official.

CISF is worried over the growing air rage, where commuters enter into arguments with the security personnel. On an average, CISF receives 20 complaints from commuters about rude behaviour of its staff every month.

On some occasions the passengers could be at fault, but the CISF wants its staff to remain calm even when passengers lose their cool.

Officials said that after standing in queues, the passengers get angry with things like repeated security checks, baggage disturbed during the X-ray scanning and on being asked to remove ear plugs.