Dr. Andrew Thomas, associate professor of marketing and international business, was quoted in a February 2 ABC-7 (Denver) story on the increase in “air rage” incidents.
The ABC-7 story reports that, according to the International Air Transport Association, cases of unruly passengers rose by 29% worldwide between 2009 and 2010.
Like other air travel experts, Thomas, who has written several books on air travel, blames the rise in air rage on the growing stress of air travel.
"It has become a much more rigorous, less glamorous experience," he said. Thomas also notes that pilots can no longer leave the cockpit to diffuse a situation like they could before 9/11.
Thomas’ books include Aviation Insecurity: The New Challenges of Air Travel, Air Rage: Crisis in the Skies and Soft Landing: Airline Industry Strategy, Service, and Safety. He the Founding-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Transportation Security and founder of AirRage.org.
Full story: Air rage incidents on the rise