In 2023, the number of incidents involving disruptive passengers on international flights to the Canary Islands has significantly increased compared to pre-pandemic levels, especially on routes operated from the UK by low-cost airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, and Jet2.
These unpleasant situations, involving travellers who fly while intoxicated and end up throwing their parties on board, starting fights, or refusing to follow crew instructions, have increased by 132%, which is considerably more than double the number in 2019.
According to data provided by the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), the increase has been so significant that the total number of incidents with problematic passengers in all of 2019 was surpassed in the first seven months of the year, from 163 in twelve months to 214 in seven.
The Preferred Airport for Troublemakers.
However, the influx of disruptive passengers to the Canary Islands is not evenly distributed across all airports. According to AESA's data, Tenerife South is the most common destination for this type of unruly passenger.
Furthermore, in most instances, disturbances on flights to this airport often involve multiple passengers simultaneously, leading to large-scale altercations.
