Alcohol-fuelled air rage incidents are up 40% from last year... proving 'floozing' phenomenon is on the rise

  • Civil Aviation Authority figures show 271 drunken incidents since 2014
  • In the same period the year before, only 190 incidents had occurred 
  • Drinking heavily while flying is known as 'floozing' among airline insiders 

By Katie Amey for MailOnline

Published: 05:07 EST, 8 July 2015 | Updated: 06:12 EST, 8 July 2015

From A-listers to everyday travellers, passengers becoming disruptive on planes after knocking back booze in the airport have increasingly been hitting the headlines.

Scotland's Glasgow Prestwick Airport perceived the problem to be so prevalent that it announced plans to employ bouncers to patrol its bars.

And now figures prove that the issue is getting worse. 

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In figures obtained by The Sun newspaper, there's been a 40% rise in alcohol-related incidents on flights

In figures obtained by The Sun newspaper, there's been a 40% rise in alcohol-related incidents on flights

Figures obtained by The Sun show a 40 per cent rise in alcohol-related incidents on flights in this year alone.

Drinking heavily while flying is a phenomenon known among airline industry insiders as 'floozing,' and can refer to anything from passengers binge-drinking before boarding to sneaking alcohol onto the plane to continue at their seat.

Under a Freedom of Information request, the Civil Aviation Authority revealed to the newspaper that there had been 271 incidents of such 'floozing'-induced disruptive passengers between April 2014 and March 2015. 

During the same period the year before, there had only been 190 incidents.

That's an increase of 81.

The phenomenon of 'floozing,' drinking heavily while flying, has resulted in planes being diverted and passengers being banned for life from certain airlines

The phenomenon of 'floozing,' drinking heavily while flying, has resulted in planes being diverted and passengers being banned for life from certain airlines

And it's clear that such a phenomenon isn't just rising in popularity amongst everyday travellers, celebrities have also found themselves in the middle of drunken aircraft brawls.

Just last month, Kate Moss was escorted off an easyJet flight for causing a scene after flight crew spotted the supermodel swigging vodka from her cabin luggage. 

Phil Ward, managing director of Jet2.com, tells The Sun that the airline has seen a 20 per cent increase in disruptive behaviour. 

'It's the sort of groups that are heading abroad for a celebration and it's just booze, booze, booze,' he said. 'They arrive at 5:30am with a beer already in their hand.'

Although there is no industry-wide standard when it comes to dealing with incidents of this nature, many major UK airlines do enforce their own policies.

DRUNK ON A PLANE: FLOOZING INCIDENTS WITHIN THE LAST 3 MONTHS

July 2015: An aggressive Ryanair passenger is arrested after harassing women, fighting and then passing out in the toilet on a flight to Tenerife. He was fined £350 and banned for life by the airline. 

July 2015: A drunk passenger causes a flight diversion after assaulting a flight attendant on an Air Canada flight.

June 2015: A man is kicked off a Qantas flight after sexually assaulting fellow passenger having drunk a bottle of vodka. He is fined £2,500.

June 2015: Scotland's Glasgow Prestwick Airport announces plans to employ bouncers to patrol its bars following a rise in the number of alcohol-fuelled incidents.

June 2015: A drunk airline passenger sexually assaulted female cabin crew and was taken off his Thomas Cook Airlines flight by police after it was forced to divert. 

June 2015: Thomson Airways flight from Manchester forced to divert to Bulgaria after a drunk passenger lit a cigarette in the toilet and had to be restrained by staff. 

June 2015: Monarch Airlines bans six passengers for life for 'drinking their own booze, smoking in toilets and grabbing flight attendants.'

May 2015: Jet2 bans passenger for life after his 'drunk and abusive behaviour' on flight from Leeds Bradford to Spain forced holiday plane to divert to France.

April 2015: Drunk passenger fined €1,000 (£716) after smoking e-cigarette in toilet and 'trying to hit' cabin crew on board London to Florida flight.

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