"Do Not Push the Front Seat" Request Leads to In-Flight Disturbance
Cheongju District Court Sentences to 4 Months Imprisonment with 1 Year Probation
A man in his 60s who swore and caused a disturbance on a flight and assaulted a flight attendant who tried to stop him was sentenced to a suspended prison term.
The Cheongju District Court Criminal Division 6 (Presiding Judge Jo Hyun-seon) sentenced A (65), who was tried for violating the Aviation Security Act, to four months in prison with a one-year suspension, Yonhap News reported on the 17th. B, who caused the disturbance together with A, was fined 3 million won.
They are accused of causing a disturbance on a flight from Jeju to Cheongju last January after a flight attendant asked them, "Please do not push the seat in front or swear loudly." In addition, A assaulted the flight attendant by hitting her wrist and grabbing her collar while she was filming the situation to document the illegal behavior.
The court pointed out, "For the safety of the aircraft and passengers, disruptive behavior such as verbal abuse and loud noise is prohibited on board during flight." Regarding the sentencing, the court explained, "The defendant evaded responsibility with unacceptable excuses and obstructed the legitimate duties of the flight attendant, endangering the safety of the aircraft and passengers, which is a serious offense."
Meanwhile, in-flight disturbances, which had been quiet for a while due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have increased to levels exceeding those before as air travel has reopened.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), announced at the 79th Annual General Meeting held in Istanbul, T?rkiye, in June last year, the rate of in-flight disturbances per 1,000 flights worldwide in 2022 was 1.76 cases (1 case per 568 flights). This represents about a 47% increase from 1.2 cases (1 case per 835 flights) in 2021. Although the total number of in-flight disturbance incidents by year has not been disclosed, IATA cited global flight data from the aviation information provider OAG, reporting 25.7 million flights in 2021 and 32.2 million flights in 2022. Based on this, the estimated number of in-flight disturbance incidents increased from about 30,800 in 2021 to approximately 56,600 last year, nearly doubling.
When examining types of in-flight disturbances, 'disobedience to flight attendant instructions,' including smoking and not wearing seat belts, was the most common, followed by 'verbal abuse' and 'in-flight intoxication.' In May last year, a 30-year-old male passenger on an Asiana Airlines flight from Jeju to Daegu caused a major social issue by dangerously opening the emergency exit just before landing. The man was later sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year suspension.
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