Passenger misconduct soars at city airport
Police callouts to Glasgow already 26% up on 2016 incidents
Police call-outs to Glasgow Airport to deal with passenger behaviour have rocketed this year.
Officers have been called to the airport 243 times so far in 2017, easily exceeding the total of 192 incidents for all of 2016.
Other Scottish airports have recorded decreases or slight increases, but Glasgow – regarded as the country’s biggest “holiday” airport – is already 26 per cent up on last year.
There have been numerous reports of drunken behaviour on flights to and from Glasgow over the summer, resulting in delays and diversions.
Ryanaircalledforacrackdown on alcohol sales in all British airports in August this year, claiming that airlines were becoming saddled with the issue of dealing with passengers who drank too much.
The new figures, released under Freedom of Information, show incidents up until 14 October.
Figures for Glasgow, which handles 9.4 million passengers a year, show there were 159 call outs in 2015. The figure rose to 192 the following year.
Three passengers flying from Glasgow Airport to Alicante became drunk and disorderly in July, forcing the plane to make an unplanned landing at Bristol.
The trio were later arrested on suspicion of threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour towards Thomson staff.
Two passengers’ drunken antics forced a Glasgow flight to Alicante to be delayed by three hours in September.
Derek Root, 30, and Alexander Gray, 38, were already intoxicated when they began drinking Jagermeister together on the plane.
They then became abusive to passengers and crew members.
Police have logged 103 incidents at Aberdeen Airport so far this year, down from 147 in 2016. There were 37 call-outs at Prestwick up to October after 40 last year.
This year’s figures for Edinburghwereunavailable.there were 73 incidents reported last year.
A spokesman for Glasgow Airport said: “We have absolutely no qualms in challenging disruptive behaviour given its potential to impact on other passengers, particularly if such an incident occurs on board an aircraft.”
“We have absolutely no qualms in challenging disruptive behaviour”
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