IT'S official - air passengers are getting angrier. Between long queues, delayed flights and overpriced food, the whole airport experience can be stressful at times. But travel experts have suggested that things are even worse now, with a rising tide of fury sweeping holidaymakers.
Just last month a rowdy EasyJet passenger was filmed being dragged from a flight to Ibiza after "kicking off" and forcing the plane into an emergency landing. And nobody is safe it seems, as a BBC star was removed from a flight in May after demanding other passengers didn't eat peanuts due to a severe allergy. Over in the US, research by the Federal Aviation Administration has found that " in-flight incidents " remain at record highs, if slightly down on the post-pandemic peak.
Beth Walter, a business communication professor from Carnegie Mellon University, has identified one of the key factors contributing to the mid-air aggro. She told the Seattle Times : "A big factor in consumers losing their tempers is the feeling that they are getting nickel and dimed at every turn. "No one likes hidden fees, and if they pop up during trips they can easily trigger the temper of a stressed-out, exhausted traveller who has been preparing for their summer vacation since last year and is expecting that everything goes according to plan.
" Extra charges for things like seat selection, as well as the ever-tightening luggage allowance combined with airline overbooking practices have, according to Beth, raised frustra.