Comparative Study on the Punishment of Unruly Passenger on board Civil Aircraft

The unruly/disruptive passengers are not properly punished because of the lag of legislation at international and domestic level. In order to curb the rising number of unruly passengers and the threat to the security of aviation, ICAO launched a special project which issued the Circular 288 and Model Legislation on Certain Offence Committed on Board Civil Aircraft, but the mission was not well accomplished. The legislation experience in US, UK and ROK proved that successful legislation on the unruly passenger punishment must be well drafted in the following three aspects: jurisdiction, list of offences and penalties for combating the problems. The legal system combating unruly passengers in China is almost suitable to fulfill its role, especially with the list of offences. To meet the need of modernization of Tokyo Convention and to maintain the aviation security in China, more coordinated legislation work concerning the jurisdiction and punishment of the unruly passengers must be conducted.