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SCMP Reporter

TOUGH 'air rage' laws mirroring new rules in Britain should be introduced in Hong Kong says Cathay Pacific, amid a global surge in the number of mid-air dramas.

 Airline spokeswoman Katherine Wang Tyng-shan said there was room for improvement in Hong Kong's laws, and the impact of the change in Britain would be watched closely.

 The British Government, under pressure from flag carrier British Airways, has just announced an extension of its air navigation order to ban passengers from acting 'in a disruptive manner'.

 From September 1, it will cover not just acts of violence but also the use of threatening, abusive or insulting words.

 Anyone breaking the law will face up to two years' jail.

 'We would welcome any strengthening of the current law in order to improve safety for our crew and passengers,' Ms Wang said.

 'Of course, it would be a positive move to extend the legislation, but it's just been introduced in the UK and we have to look at the impact.'  Cathay, which banned pop group Oasis from its flights after a rowdy episode of drunkenness last year, would not say how many incidents of air rage it had had.

 But Captain Peter Reiss, of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations, said that worldwide, cases had quadrupled in the past three years.

 He expected the problem to worsen as bigger aircraft now on the drawing board began flying, and called for urgent worldwide action.

 'The problem of disruptive passengers is serious and demands a co-ordinated global strategy involving heightened awareness, tougher laws, training and a policy of zero tolerance,' he said.

 There have been six successful prosecutions in Hong Kong for air rage in the past few years - for assault, drunk and disorderly behaviour and indecent assault - but all have used common law rather than the navigation order.

 Each time, the offender was fined between $600 and $2,000.

 A Cathay Pacific passenger was jailed for two years in Britain last year after attacking a pilot and flight attendant en route to London.

 A spokeswoman for the Civil Aviation Department said the air navigation order - which has never been used to prosecute a passenger for air rage - was sufficient for the moment.

 The order outlaws any reckless or negligent behaviour likely to endanger a plane or anyone on board.

 Drunkenness is also banned, as is behaviour likely to damage property, and the order says passengers must obey lawful instructions from the captain. They do not, however, cover offensive behaviour that does not pose a direct safety threat.

 The debate comes as Asia is tipped to lead a global boom in air traffic over the next two years.

 The International Civil Aviation Organisation predicts the number of passenger kilometres travelled worldwide each year will rise from 2,739 billion this year to 3,038 billion in 2001.

 'The traffic of airlines of the Asia-Pacific region, after a decline in 1998 due to economic conditions, is expected to grow at the highest rate,' a spokesman said.

 Growth in the region was forecast at almost six per cent for next year, compared with the world average of five, and nearly seven per cent in 2001, compared with the global growth rate of 5.7 per cent.



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Tougher air rage laws urged

Cathay Pacific