Drunk and abusive air passengers face being permanently banned from flying under national 'blacklist'
There has been a spike in the number of drunken and violent incidents on planes in the last several years
Rowdy passengers could be blocked from flying under plans being drawn up by the government.
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A blacklist being developed by ministers aims to curb abuse towards cabin crew and disruption to family travel plans.
Currently, thugs who have caused problems on flights can be banned by the airline they are travelling with, but can simply book through another operator in the future.
The government wants to close that loophole by enabling information about drunk and abuse flyers to be shared between airlines.
At present, data protection rules prevent airlines from sharing information about passengers' data, even if the yob committed a criminal offence, but officials are working on this.
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There has been a spike in the number of drunken and violent incidents on planes in the last several years.
In 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, carriers reported ‘difficulty in controlling intoxicated, violent or unruly’ passengers 390 times.
By 2023, this had risen to 1,245, according to figures from the UK Civil Aviation Authority, and has remained above 1,000 ever since.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has called for pre-flight drinking to be banned or limited to limit the number of disruptive passengers.
A government source suggested ministers wouldn't move to restrict passengers from enjoying a pre-flight tipple.
The source said: “Everyone should be able to enjoy a pint at the airport, but antisocial behaviour on flights is totally unacceptable. It threatens the safety of passengers and crew, and disrupts hard-earned holidays.
“There are already tough laws in place to deal with offences committed on flights, but we are exploring with industry how we can better address this issue, ensuring we crack down on people who persistently cause chaos.
“Everyone should be able to fly without fuss.”
The proposal is still at concept stage and needs to be tested with industry more firmly.
One potential version of the scheme could involve public officials holding data about passengers with a history of thuggish in-flight behaviour.
They would then warn an airline if a problem flier was attempting to check-in with them.
The airline would then be able to choose to bar them from travelling.
This system is understood to be complaint with data protection rules and would not require new legislation.
Officials are set to meet airlines in June to discuss taking this forward
Phil Ward, Chief Operations Officer of Jet2, said the airline would support a move to share passenger data across airlines.
"The creation of a national database will mean that, as well as being banned from flying with us, disruptive passengers can also be banned from flying with other UK airlines," he said.
Paul Charles, chief executive of The PC Agency travel consultancy, said action "couldn't come soon enough" to curb rowdy passengers, and added a blacklist would "prevent costly flight diversions and reduce attacks on cabin crews".
However civil liberties campaigner Josie Appleton, of the Campaign for Freedom in Everyday Life which campaigns against strict regulations, said the proposal "should ring alarm bells".
"Who decides who goes on the list, what is the benchmark, and how long would they be on the list for?
She added the plan "sets a dangerous precedent of government working with private companies to bar people’s access to transport and services, and to share personal data - which could roll over into blacklists in other areas."
The results of a May YouGov survey of 5000 adults found that 37 per cent supported the idea, with 38 per cent saying they somewhat supported it. Only 11 per cent were opposed.
A range of penalties already exist for disruptive passengers, including large fines and criminal convictions.