There were several media reports this week on the decision by Ryanair to sue a passenger who disrupted a flight between Dublin and Lanzarote last April. The airline is seeking to recoup costs of €15,000 associated with the incident.
RTÉ’s Six One news bulletin covered the story on Wednesday (8th January), and featured Fórsa official Lisa Connell, who highlighted the union's priority to ensure cabin crew and passenger safety.
Lisa said: “Our cabin crew members are the first responders in unruly passenger behaviour and the civil action reflects a wider commercial concern about the fallout of these behaviours.”
Fórsa represents cabin crew members working across a number of different Irish airlines. The union joined a new safety initiative by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) last November, and is now a signatory to the 'Joint declaration on unruly passenger behaviour in airports and on aircraft'.
Lisa added: “The IAA's recent charter creates a wider awareness in terms of what the expectation for passengers and crew is on board and that the declaration is critical in ensuring Fórsa members safety in the workplace,” she said.
It's understood this civil action by Ryanair is a first of its kind in Ireland, reflecting the airline’s strict ‘zero tolerance’ policy regarding unruly passengers.
Katie Morgan, Fórsa’s head of Services and Enterprises, the divisional home for the union’s aviation branches, added: “As a trade union, the potential risk of unruly passenger behaviour to the health and safety of our members is a crucial matter of concern.
“We’ve seen first-hand the effect that some unruly passenger behaviour has had on our members. Our divisional executive supports the joint declaration because it closely aligns with the objectives of our union in terms of aviation members’ safety, and it’s a welcome initiative,” she said.
Fórsa represents pilots and cabin crew at Aer Lingus, Emerald Airlines (Aer Lingus regional operator), and Ryanair, in addition to office-based staff in airlines, airports and the IAA/AirNav, as well as air traffic controllers and radio operators at AirNav.
The union continues to engage with cabin crew members who’ve been affected by this issue. If you have been affected by unruly passenger behaviour while on duty, please get in touch via cabincrew@forsa.ie.
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