Ryanair racist rant: Whose responsibility is it when passengers get abusive on flights?

After the latest incident of aggressive passenger behaviour, we look at what the law says about who should be investigating

When it comes to aviation, the rules of jurisdiction can be murky. After all, if a passenger gets aggressive while on a flight, whose responsibility are they? The police in the country they’ve flown from? The country they’re flying to? The country they originated from? Or the country the airline is based in?

The latest incident on a plane to go viral raised all these questions, as well as prompting shock from viewers around the world.

A video filmed onboard a Ryanair flight shows a male passenger racially abusing an elderly black woman, since named as Mrs Gayle, before take-off. It was quickly shared across social media sites, with many condemning the crew’s actions – the woman was moved to another seat while the unidentified man was left in peace.

However, it also demonstrated that jurisdiction can be perceived as a grey area.

Shadow Transport Minister Karl Turner addressed the issue in a series of tweets over the weekend, saying: “Ryanair’s failure to deplane the alleged racist offender, handing him over to the Spanish authorities probably means that he isn’t now prosecuted.

“Unfortunately because Ryanair is registered in Dublin not in the UK the alleged offence could only be tried by UK authorities if it was ‘in flight’ to the UK. Section 92(1) Civil Aviation Act s.92(4) defines ‘in flight’.

“If this incident had happened on an alternative airline under ‘British Control’ or it was already ‘in flight’ to the UK the prosecuting authorities could have prosecuted.”

The MP quoted the Civil Aviation Act 1982, tweeting: “If airline isn’t registered in UK (Ryanair is registered in Dublin) then aircraft must be ‘in flight’ to the UK for UK Law to apply. It wasn’t in flight. It was sat on the tarmac in Barcelona. Offender should have been handed to police immediately!”

Ryanair said it has told Essex Police about the incident, but as the plane was in Barcelona at the time and hadn’t departed, it’s unclear whether they have the power to investigate further or prosecute. So whose problem is it?

If the flight has departed

According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the UK, generally speaking it’s the country where the aircraft is registered that matters. Never mind where the airline is based or where the flight departed from or is heading to – it’s the law of the country where the plane is registered that applies onboard.

So, if a crime is committed onboard a UK registered aircraft, it can be investigated by the UK police and prosecuted by the CPS.

If the flight has landed

Although the above rule still applies, in practice incidents are sometimes dealt with differently. Local police who have been asked by a flight crew to meet an aircraft on arrival after an incident on board can investigate and prosecute if a crime has been committed – regardless of whether the aircraft is registered elsewhere. However, this is at their discretion; if they don’t choose to prosecute then, in theory, police and prosecutors based in the aircraft’s state of registry could take up the case.

If the flight hasn’t left yet

If something happens while the aircraft is still on the ground with the doors open, the flight has not yet begun. This means law enforcement is still the responsibility of local police.

However, if the flight technically has started, ie the doors are closed and the aircraft has pushed back from the stand, it’s a different ball game. This means it’s back to the original rule – it’s the law of the country where the aircraft is registered that applies onboard.

In the Ryanair case, therefore, this distinction is important – if the doors were open, the matter should have been referred to Barcelona law enforcement. If they were closed, it’s up to law enforcement in the country where the plane is registered – possibly Ireland in Ryanair’s case – to investigate.