Anyone flying to Turkey for their holidays this year is being warned they could face a fine on the plane. New laws have been introduced to fine passengers who are in too much of a hurry to get off the flight.
Many travellers are annoyed by those passengers who leap up before the aircraft has even stopped taxiing to get out of the door first. But now Turkey has decided to clamp down on the process amid safety fears.
The Turkish Civil Aviation Authority has announced that it will impose fines of 60 euros on anyone who fails to respect ‘the right of descent of other passengers’.
The announcement, reported by Sosoir stipulates that anyone who stands up, unbuckles their seat belt, opens the compartments or enters the aisle before the aircraft has finished taxiing or their turn to exit has come, could be fined.
The Turkish Civil Aviation Authority now requires airlines to update their onboard announcements to remind passengers that they must remain seated with their seat belts fastened until the aircraft has fully stopped. Passengers are also required to allow those seated in front of them to disembark first.
Kemal Yüksek, Director General of Turkish Civil Aviation, said the aim of this decision is to limit dangerous and disrespectful behaviour and to ensure maximum safety on board aircraft. Flight attendants have been asked to remind passengers of this new decision before landing.
The fine is up to 2,603 Turkish pounds, the equivalent of around €60. In an interview with Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), former pilot Gérard Feldzer, who is also President of the NGO Aviation sans Frontières, stressed the importance of remaining seated when the aircraft lands and until it comes to a complete stop: “We’re taxiing, and a technical accident can happen. If you brake suddenly and people are standing up, they’ll run into each other. It’s not dangerous because the plane is still on the ground, but it’s a warning to passengers to be more disciplined and also to explain that just because you’re standing up doesn’t mean you’re going to save time and get out of the plane sooner.”
Actions which could face fines include unfastening seat belts, standing up, opening the overhead compartments or crowding the aisle while the plane is still taxiing to the gate, but also standing up or proceeding into the aisle before the row’s turn to exit, the directive states.
Yüksek noted in the circular that there has been a significant increase in reports of such behavior, which risks “passenger and baggage safety and security” and disregards “the satisfaction and exit priority” of other passengers.
Impatient passengers can actually delay the process of deplaning. Under Federal Aviation Administration regulations, in the USA, the cabin crew has to alert the pilot if a passenger stands up while the plane is still moving toward a gate.
The International Air Transport Association called disruptive passengers “a significant problem” in 2019, with one incident for every 1,053 flights reported in 2017. The U.S. had a spike in incidents in 2021, as travelers clashed with flight crews over mask mandates and other issues.
Numbers have dropped in the years since, but the FAA reported nearly 900 reports of unruly behavior for the first nine months of 2024 — more than were reported in all of 2018.