Disruptive passenger behavior onboard low-cost carrier aircraft: the issue of air rag

Disruptive passenger behavior, commonly termed air rage, poses severe operational challenges for all airlines. Incidents of air rage can pose risks to aircraft safety and have significant negative impacts on passenger experience and airline reputation. Over the last decade, reports of air rage have increased significantly, and anecdotal and media coverage suggests that the rise of low-cost carriers (LCCs) are partly responsible. As disruptive passenger behavior covers a wide range of actions from verbal abuse through to safety-critical events, the causal factors are complex. There is little direct evidence that LCC operations increase air range. However, this operational challenge is little studied, and emergent findings do seem to suggest that aspects of the LCC business and operational model could potentially contribute to such incidents.