• In the past year, 38 per cent of flight attendants have been physically abused by a passenger who was under the influence of medication
• More than two thirds (68 per cent) of cabin crew have seen an increase in the number of passengers self-medicating onboard
• One in 12 flight attendants have been sexually harassed by a drunk passenger in the last 12 months
• One in 20 passengers would be unable to leave a plane unaided in an emergency because they were under the influence of alcohol or medication
• Drunken and disruptive behaviour on an aircraft can result in fines of up to £5,000 and two years in prison

 

Flight attendants are being exposed to shocking levels of verbal, physical and sexual abuse from self-medicated and inebriated passengers, according to new research¹ from Direct Line Travel Insurance.  Almost half (46 per cent) of cabin crew say they have been verbally insulted by a passenger under the influence of medication, such as prescription painkillers, in the last 12 months alone, with 38 per cent suffering physical abuse. Flight attendants also report being sexually harassed while on duty (seven per cent) by passengers high on medication.

The primary role of a flight attendant is to keep passengers safe and follow security regulations, a role made more difficult if passengers are self-medicating onboard.  More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of cabin crew have witnessed an increase in passengers self-medicating in the last 12 months, with a third (33 per cent) reporting that the numbers of flyers popping pills has increased significantly.

Brits² claim they take medication to calm their nerves when flying, with almost eight million admitting they have taken drugs while flying in the past 12 months. Even more worryingly, 884,000 consumed prescription medications that weren’t provided by their GP or illegal drugs to calm their nerves.  Of the Brits who said they self-medicate, 24 per cent (1.87 million) took anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications such as Prozac or Zoloft, while 21 per cent (1.72 million) took sleeping tablets such as Temazepam.  Tranquilisers were taken by one in five (1.59 million) of those who self-medicated before flying, while 16 per cent (1.3 million) took muscle relaxants such as Somas and 10 per cent (830,000) consumed prescription painkillers such as Vicodin.

Table One: Most popular methods of self-medicating on flights by those who self-medicate

Method of self-medication	Percentage of people who have used this in the last 12 months	Estimated number of people flying
Anti-depressants/anti-anxiety medication	24%	1.87 million
Sleeping tablets	21%	1.72 million
Tranquilisers	20%	1.59 million
Muscle relaxants	16%	1.30 million
Prescription painkillers	10%	832,000
Over-the-counter sleep medication	6%	494,000
Illegal drugs	3%	208,000
All those who have self-medicated on flights in the past 12 months		7.96 million

Source: Direct Line Travel Insurance

People flying under the influence of medication are risking their health and ability to control their actions by mixing dangerous combinations of drugs.  Among those taking medication when flying in the last 12 months, a quarter also consumed alcohol, with 24 per cent taking a combination of pills.  Mixing alcohol and a drug like Vicodin can be fatal, as the heart may slow down too much and stop beating³.  Among the flyers taking prescription pills, 17 per cent exceeded the prescribed dosage, while 10 per cent didn’t even check what the dosage should be.      

Impact of alcohol

Drunk passengers remain a serious issue for cabin crew, with the majority (85 per cent) being forced to deal with a passenger under the influence in the last year.  The issue of passengers smuggling alcohol onboard is a problem, with more than half (54 per cent) of cabin crew seeing a rise of passengers drinking booze that wasn’t purchased on the flight in the last year and 28 per cent reporting a significant increase.

Flight attendants are at an increased risk of assault from drunken passengers. Over a quarter (28 per cent) have been physically abused by passengers under the influence of alcohol in the last 12 months alone and one in 12 (eight per cent) have even been sexually harassed. Verbal abuse is a regular occurrence for flight attendants, with nearly half (46 per cent) reporting verbal abuse by a drunken passenger in the last year.

Tom Bishop, head of travel insurance at Direct Line, commented: “It is shocking to see the scale of abuse flight attendants are forced to endure as they are trapped onboard with self-medicated and drunken passengers behaving erratically and inappropriately.  Passengers often don’t know how they will react in the air, due to a combination of the effects of medication, alcohol and changes in air pressure.  While everyone wants an enjoyable journey, people need to moderate their drinking when flying to ensure they are always in control and only take prescribed medication in the correct dosage.  Those nervous or anxious about flying should explore alternative options to calm themselves or seek medical advice from their GP.

“We would also advise holidaymakers to have the appropriate travel insurance cover in place before taking off to avoid an expensive hospital bill should they be unwell and need treatment, whatever the reason.”  

Air passengers from the UK are self-medicating because of their fear of getting on an aircraft. Almost a third of Brits (31 per cent) report that they are nervous or phobic of flying, with one in every fourteen being extremely nervous or phobic of getting onboard an aircraft.  Women are more nervous flyers than men with 38 per cent stating they are anxious about flying compared to 24 per cent of men. 

Health and safety

In the last 12 months, flight attendants estimate that five per cent of passengers would not have been able to leave the plane unaided in the event of an emergency due to being under the influence of medication or alcohol.   Reinforcing the problems associated with self-medicated flyers, 24 per cent of attendants reported having incidents of not being able to wake up passengers for landing when they identified there was an issue. 

Drunken behaviour on an aircraft can result in fines of up to £5,000 and two years in prison⁴ for the perpetrator.   If planes must be diverted because a passenger is being disruptive, the person causing the incident can be charged between £10,000 and £80,000.      

- ENDS -

Notes to Editors

¹        Research conducted by PureProfile among 100 flight attendants between 11th and 15^th March 2019

²        Research conducted by Opinium among a nationally representative sample of 2,003 adults between 12^th – 15^th March 2019

³        https://www.alcohol.org/mixing-with/vicodin/

⁴        https://www.caa.co.uk/Passengers/On-board/Disruptive-passengers/

For further information please contact:

Naomi Kombe 
Media Relations Executive
Direct Line Group

01651 832895
[email protected]

Samantha Stewart

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

[email protected]

0207 282 2856

Direct Line

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