- FRANKFURT, Nov 11 (Reuters) - German airline pilots urged their employers
on Wednesday to help avert ``air rage'' attacks by offering nicotine to
smoke-starved passengers and cutting down the amount of alcohol served
during flights. Georg Fongern, sopokesman for the main German pilots' association,
Cockpit, said passengers drinking too much or getting frustrated by no-smoking
rules were two of the main causes of disturbances during flights.
-
- ``We're not saying we want to stop alcohol
being served on planes but we want moderation and we should offer nicotine
plasters and chewing gum to help those who find the non-smoking rule difficult,''
Fongern told a news conference. Fongern said a Cockpit survey showed that
in the year to June 1998 there had been 1,252 cases of ``unruly'' passengers
on German airlines.
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- ``Given the extremely low percentage
of cases that are ever reported we estimate the number is actually between
80,000 and 100,000,'' Fongern said. The survey showed 36 cases of physical
violence in the last year, which Fongern said was ``just the tip of the
iceberg.'' Several high-profile air rage attacks have made headlines in
the past few months. British pop star Ian Brown was jailed in October for
four months for threatening to cut off the hands of a stewardess. ``The
longer the distance being travelled the more cases of air-rage we have
to deal with, as people have longer to drink and can't stand the squash
in the cabin,'' Fongern said. He said the proportion of passengers taken
to court for their actions was low.
-
- ``Airlines don't sue people as a rule
because it's not in the interests of their marketing strategy. Instead
the cabin crew have to bring their own civil litigation,'' Fongern said.
Fongern said cases of unruly passengers were not confined to any one particular
ticket class. Rudeness and hassling was frequently seen among business
and first class passengers. ``These people are used to giving orders and
think they have bought the stewardess along with their ticket. They can't
accept instructions,'' Fongern said.
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