Research: emergency events at airports mostly due to drunk passengers
Emergency Events at Airports Largely a Result of Intoxicated Passengers
An Israeli-managed European research initiative has determined that most of the emergency events at airports occur due to confrontations with drunk and violent passengers.
This research was the first comprehensive survey of European airports, and was carried out by the BEMOSA project, funded by the EU and headed by Professor Avi Kirshenbaum from the Technion in Hiafa.
The report is based on 360 interviews conducted at eight different European airports. The research reveals that most events that required security personnel to intervene involved the confiscation of prohibited items and handling of intoxicated and violent passengers. From these results, BEMOSA researchers compiled a list of emergency scenarios that require security personnel to intervene.According to the report, 131 out of 369 events where there was a genuine threat to security involved passengers seeking to bring prohibited items past security, including knives, guns, ammunition, and explosives. Ninety of these events involved violent passengers, most of which were drunk.
The report explains that these events significantly affect security procedures, as additional security employees or police had to be called in order to assist in the handling of passengers under the influence of alcohol.