With travelling once again picking up, many countries are choosing to update their rules and regulations to ensure a pleasant summer and that there are as few complications as possible over the next few months. One of the countries that is choosing to update their airplane security protocols to protect passengers is in Europe, and it is doing so by implementing a fine on their flights to any that does not follow the updated in flight rules.
The country is Turkey, and their General Directorate of Civil Aviation is stepping up this summer to streamline one of the most frustrating parts of the flight experience, which is deplaning. We are all familiar with the struggle, as soon as wheels hit the ground after a flight, passengers flood the aisle even before the seatbelt sign has come off or the plane has arrived at the gate. This causes a lot of trouble, since everyone getting up all at once and trying to access their luggage is a recipe for injuries and annoyance.
To prevent this situation, Director General Kemal Yüksek sent out a memo to all cabin crews operating in Turkey instructing them on the new measure that they would have to respect in country, sating that passengers who “fail to respect the disembarkation priority of passengers in front of or around them” will be reported to the authorities and receive “an administrative fine in accordance with applicable legal regulations.”
The fine would not be excessive, approximately 2,603 Turkish lira, equivalent to $67, but it is more of a symbol of respect for the process that is meant to act as a deterrent than a ploy to make money off passengers.
What can get you fined in Turkey if you do not comply with the new regulations
Even though we all know that we must comply with instructions and that a plane is not safe until it stops at the gate, we all tend to ignore some of the basic commands like keeping the seatbelt on until the plane has fully stopped and the sign has been turned off. This is why the General Directorate of Civil Aviation has created a list of basic behavior that we should all be following either way and that will carry the fine should passengers disobey. The fines will be levied on passengers that:
- Unfasten their seatbelts while the plane continues taxiing toward the gate.
- Stand up prematurely before the aircraft comes to a complete stop.
- Open overhead compartments during taxiing.
- Crowd in aisles without respecting the corresponding turn of each row.
- Move toward the aisle before the appropriate time to disembark.
This measure has not come out of nowhere Kemal Yüksek explained that authorities have documented “a significant increase in reports of this type of behavior,” after the pandemic which jeopardizes “the safety and security of passengers and baggage,” as well as affect “the satisfaction and departure priority” of other travelers.
And the Turkish authorities are not the only ones that have noticed this issue, other frequent flyers and industry professionals, like Jennifer “Jaki” Johnson, a flight attendant for a major airline and CEO of Jetsetter Chic, explained to the Washington Post that “it’s a safety issue.” So much so that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires the crew to alert the pilot if a passenger stands up while the plane is still in motion.
And the problem has been getting progressively worse as flying conditions have worsened, while before it was isolated incidents, the International Air Transport Association reported one incident for every 1,053 flights in 2017 and classified disruptive passengers as a “significant problem” as early as 2019. The worst spike came in 2021 when the pandemic was at a high point and more recently, during the first nine months of 2024, the FAA recorded nearly 900 reports of unruly behavior, which was more than during the entire year of 2018.