Abstract
Disruptive passenger behaviour (DPB) incidents spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic period, compromising the safety of commercial flights on a daily basis. This qualitative semi-structured interview study examined the perceived triggering factors and motivations for DPB and the subsequent impact of DPB upon cabin crew well-being and safety. Twenty-four European cabin crew disclosed experiences, subjective observations of perpetrator traits, assessment of DPB development and information regarding their well-being and perceived safety. Thematic analysis revealed that the perceived frequency of DPB had increased, driven by an accumulation of pandemic-related factors - such as enforcing mask wearing amongst intoxicated passengers. DPB was found to decrease resilience and spur maladaptive coping strategies in crew. Suggested enhancements to current DPB mitigation consisted of stricter punishment for DPB as a deterrent, alcohol bans and higher quality training. These findings can inform decision-makers' efforts to support cabin crew well-being and create safer cabin workplaces in the future.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | (In-Press) |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics |
| Volume | (In-Press) |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 12 Sept 2024 |
Bibliographical note
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/),which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.Keywords
- disruptive passenger behaviour
- air rage
- cabin crew
- aviation
- well-being
- safety
- qualitative