CNBC reports Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have jointly introduced a new code of conduct for flyers to follow, with penalties ranging from a warning up to police activity.
Harassment Defined as Abusive Language, Assault, and Deception
The two airlines introduced the new code of conduct after a rising number of abusive behavior incidents aboard the carriers. Together, both Japan Airlines and ANA identified nine different actions which constitute harassment, which include:
Abusive language, insults, and slander
Threatening words or actions
Assault
Deceptive activities
Sexual harassment
Although the two airlines share the same harassment values, each of their approaches is different. ANA will add several additional definitions of harassment to their policy, including stalking and indecent behavior, while Japan Airlines will require employees to go through harassment training to learn how to deescalate the abusive behaviors.
Passengers who demonstrate harassing behaviors will face a number of increasing penalties, depending on the severity of their actions. Punishments range from warnings, all the way to denied boarding and police intervention.
While unruly behavior is on the rise in Asia, unruly passenger incidents in the United States are on a steep decline. To date in 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration received only 893 unruly flyer reports – significantly down from the high in 2021, where the agency received over 5,900 incident reports.