Passengers to UK airports this summer are again being warned on the consequences of disruptive behaviour due to irresponsible drinking at terminals and inflight.

The ‘One Too Many’ campaign, which draws support from airport operators, travel retailers and airline stakeholders in reinforcing the UK Aviation Industry Code of Practice on Disruptive Passengers, re-launches today at *14 airports.

First rolled out by IATA in July at an initial 10 airports, the ‘One Too Many’ campaign is the first-of-its-kind to bring together the Airport Operators Association (AOA), UK Travel Retail Forum (UKTRF), Airlines UK and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Digital screens, point-of-sale displays and notices in retail and F&B areas will be visible to passengers, backed by a targeted social media campaign that last year reached more than eight million across Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.

‘PROMISING GAINS’

Those that engage in disruptive behaviour can be denied boarding, face fines of up to £80,000 ($101,000), or custodial sentences in the most serious cases.

Backed by Aviation Minister Baroness Vere, the scaled-up initiative has been highlighted by Government as an example of industry best-practice in its Green Paper, Aviation 2050 – the future of UK aviation.

Since last year’s call to action, disruptive passenger incidents have recorded a marginal drop from 417 to 413 year-on-year, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) figures.

However, this can be viewed positively in light of a 2.7% rise in departing passengers for full-year 2017 across the UK aviation network.

It is worth pointing out though that disruptive behaviour on certain leisure routes has increased, with 31% of reported incidents directly linked to alcohol – something that has attracted the ire of the UK press.

On the other hand, the campaign has augmented with more local and bespoke approaches to tackling unruly behaviour linked to alcohol abuse with some notable successes.

Glasgow Airport’s ‘Campus Watch’ initiative resulted in a 52% drop in outbound alcohol-related offences since the beginning of the campaign, while Manchester Police reported a 23% decline in incidents at Manchester Airport.

François Bourienne, Chair of the UKTRF said: “The results of the campaign so far have been incredibly promising and there has been a great response from the partner airports who have reported decreasing numbers of disrupting passengers on last year.

“The numbers have always been low but passengers that are disruptive ruin the experience of others on their flight, cause stress for staff and additional expense for airlines.

“As ‘One Too Many’ makes clear, this is unacceptable, and all offenders will face consequences much worse than a hangover.”

Karen Dee, Chief Executive, AOA added: “The One Too Many campaign has returned to remind passengers of the penalties they face.

“However, the industry itself needs no reminder. Airport and airline staff are always ready to act to prevent or deal with a disruptive incident and will not hesitate to action the deserved penalties. We hope those departing from the UK’s airports this summer fly responsibly and start their party at the destination, not onboard.”

WAITING GAME ON CONSULTATION FINDINGS…

The unveiling of the new campaign and overriding message that airlines, airports, retailers and other aviation stakeholders are ready to tackle unruly behaviour linked to alcohol abuse is timely.

In November, the UK Government issued a call for evidence on extending alcohol licensing to airside environments at airports.

This arose from a House of Lords Select Committee recommendation in April 2017 to revoke existing airside exemptions at 24 international airports in England and Wales under the Licensing Act 2003.

The consultation, designed to ascertain the scale of disruption caused by drunken airline passengers; the implications of airside alcohol consumption on crime, disorder and public safety; and the current use of statutory powers to tackle the problem, concluded in February.

A spokesperson from the UK Home Office this week was unable to provide TRBusiness with further information as to when the findings are due to be published.

It goes without saying that the UK aviation sector will expect any decision taken by Government to be made on consensus, but the issue undoubtedly splits opinion.

Airlines UK, the trade body for UK registered airlines and ‘One Too Many’ partner, has made clear that while carriers do not want to prevent passengers from enjoying alcohol, it supports airside bars and retailers falling under the jurisdiction of the Licensing Act.

CEO Tim Alderslade has previously said alcohol consumed or bought in the airport is the most common causal factor for more than half of disruptive incidents in the air and has called on ministers to remove the current ‘outdated exemption’.

Speaking to TRBusiness this week, UKTRF Secretary General Cameron Gray made clear that while the Forum fully supports any measures that would make a difference to addressing disruptive passenger numbers, it rejects the Home Office’s proposal to extend the licensing regime on a policy and logistical level.

“From a logistics perspective we think there are some real challenges for taking a regime designed for the high street and dropping it directly into an airside environment; from the way airports function, their security and highly-regulated environments, and the fact that licensing is dealt with on a region-by-region basis makes it very hard to apply it in a uniform sense across the entire UK aviation network,” he said.

“There are also some real questions as to how it would apply to onboard sales. On a policy level, we just don’t think telling people when they can and can’t purchase alcohol is going to stop people who choose to drink to excess and behave badly in the airside environment.

“Disruptive behaviour is not just an issue for the aviation network, but an issue across all of society. We think what is needed is better education and understanding from passengers of what their obligations are. More important is to drive behavioural change.

“The ‘One Too Many’ campaign is about reminding people there are consequences to actions and the existing penalty scheme will be strong if you don’t comply with the rules.”

Echoing his comments, Julie Lassaigne, Secretary General, European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC) said: “The ETRC and UKTRF – as well as a number of individual airports, retailers and brand members of ETRC and/or UKTRF – both sent their input to the call for evidence.

“They argued that the extension of the alcohol licensing regulatory regime to airside environments at airports is not the appropriate tool to achieve the Government’s objective of reducing disruptive passengers’ incidents, which is linked to a small number of routes and limited number of passengers.

“Such a proposal would apply a disproportionate regulatory intervention in an attempt to address an issue that is more effectively dealt with through existing and ongoing consumer education and industry-led actions.”

Indeed, some would argue there are already a number of tools in place – both legal and action-based – that demonstrate practical approaches to self-regulation in a way that renders more far-reaching regulations at airside unnecessary.

This includes the aforementioned ‘One Too Many’ Campaign and the UK Aviation Industry Code of Practice on Disruptive Passengers, which Gray describes as ‘great examples’ of the industry identifying a problem and galvanising support to achieve results.

This is not to mention the various checks and balances already employed in airside environments such as ‘Challenge 25’, which is in theory meant to be enforced by licensees.

“From a UKTRF perspective we really believe we have demonstrated that we take this issue seriously; we’re working really hard on it and starting to see some signs that the message is getting through and encourage the Government to recognise that the industry is doing a good job on this by itself,” asserted Gray.

DUTY FREE: PROTOCOLS IN PLACE

For duty free in particular, one question contained within the call for evidence is likely to have alerted attention.

This is as follows: “What, if anything, prevents airlines, airports, airside businesses and other relevant entities to jointly introduce further and stricter measures to tackle the problem of drunk and disruptive passengers at international airports in England and Wales (e.g. banning the sale of “miniatures” in airside shops, limiting the availability of alcohol to passengers at certain hours, data sharing on drunk and disruptive passengers, replicating best practice schemes etc.)?”

Asked directly about the potential implications for alcohol duty free sold at airside shops excluding bars and restaurants, Gray reinforces the ‘copy and paste’ threat of transferring a high-street style licensing regime to an airside environment.

Essentially, as licensing rules fall under the remit of local authorities it means product sales could be restricted during certain hours, potentially depriving retailers from generating revenue from vast swathes of international passengers transferring through the airport at any given time who buy, mostly for gifting purposes.

“We think [the license extension] is a tremendous disadvantage not just for retailers but for consumers,” he said. “Let’s not forget that the vast bulk of passengers travel responsibly, do not misbehave, are able to purchase alcohol at any point and do not have any problems. We don’t see the justification in hampering their ability to do that as part of their travel experience.”

Gray says retailers adopt responsible stances when it comes to the sale of alcohol, dovetailing with the ‘Challenge 25’ strategy and other internal protocols to authorise the sale.

TRBusiness points out travel retailers such as World Duty Free already sell alcohol in sealed bags with affixed labels clearly stating that passengers should not open these until they reach their final destination.

‘MORE DATA NEEDED’

Additionally, the ETRC and others remains committed to the responsible retailing of alcohol products and are already strong advocates of the Duty Free World Council’s (DFWC) Alcohol Code of Conduct, which sets out best practices for the promotion, marketing and sales of products in duty free.

Currently, the DFWC is understood to be working on a specific online training module for the responsible retailing of alcohol based on the Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association’s popular programme.

Gray added: “You are seeing a lot of measures; sealable bags and retailers moving miniatures to other locations in the shop are a couple of good examples of the industry again identifying a solution on a self-regulatory basis and getting on and doing them.

“If we’d like to see one thing that comes out of the consultation, it’s a clear, unified data set on disruptive passengers. We can use the CAA information and airlines and LCCs are happy to put out their own information, but there is no place where everyone is sharing the type of information to get a handle on this. We would say to Government, ‘how do you regulate something that you don’t fully understand’?

“For the first step, it would be really useful for there to be an agreed way forward for the industry to align its data and metrics to take a look at this. We don’t think the industry – and Government – has been given a chance to fully understand this issue and on that basis we can’t support further regulation.”

Stay close to TRBusiness for further developments on this story.

For further information on the ‘One Too Many’ campaign, click here.

*Manchester Airport Group (Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands); AGS Airports (Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton) Heathrow, Newcastle; Bristol; Birmingham; Gatwick, Belfast International; Liverpool John Lennon; Leeds Bradford.