Russia Mulls Hefty Fines for Unruly Plane Passengers

MOSCOW, December 10 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s transport watchdog is considering raising fines for unruly passengers to thousands of US dollars by obliging them to cover costs caused by their actions, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Russian airlines have recently suffered a series of incidents involving rowdy passengers, prompting the country’s lawmakers to push for tougher measures against them. However, none of the numerous bills submitted to the parliament has been passed so far.

Vladimir Chertok, the deputy chief of Russia’s Federal Service for Transport Supervision (Rostransnadzor), said Russia plans to ratify the new version of the Tokyo Convention regarding in-flight offences.

The international treaty was concluded in 1963 and ratified by Russia in 1988.

The updated version of the convention would make an unruly passenger financially responsible for costs sustained as a result of his or her actions.

That penalty might include compensating for the airline’s costs for an emergency landing or compensating other passengers who missed their connecting flights.

Chertok said the move would increase the average fine for unruly in-flight conduct in Russia from 5,000 rubles ($150) to thousands of US dollars.

The Russian delegation will discuss ratifying the updated version of the convention when the International Civil Aviation Organization convenes in Montreal next March.

Russian lawmakers and airlines have previously sought other measures they say are currently missing from Russia’s Air Code: raising fines, installing CCTV cameras on board, creating an official blacklist of misbehaving passengers and banning in-flight alcohol.

In October, police at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport detained a man who started a brawl on a plane bound for Egypt and threatened to kill a security official.

In September, police at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport detained a drunken Russian woman on a plane bound for the Turkish city of Antalya, who behaved violently and insulted flight attendants.

Also in September, a Russian woman tried to open an emergency exit in mid-air while on a Cathay Pacific flight from Moscow to Hong Kong. She was arrested by local police upon arrival.

In January, Russian businessman Sergei Kabalov achieved notoriety on the Internet after a YouTube video made by another passenger showed him punching one male passenger on the nose and striking a flight attendant on board a Kogalymavia airliner bound for Egypt. He tried to break into the cockpit and threatened to “kill anyone with two fingers.”