Japan’s two biggest commercial airlines are getting tougher on travelers who verbally or physically abuse airline staff.
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways updated their websites on Friday with “customer harassment” policies, in the wake of increasing cases of abuse of frontline workers across industries in Japan.
Using similar wording, the two airlines listed nine behaviors that constitute “harassment” under the policies, including:
- Offensive language, offensive tone, insults, discrimination, slander
- Threatening words or actions
- Excessive or unreasonable demands
- Attack
- Acts that disrupt business operations (extended detention, excessive repetition of requests or complaints)
- Unauthorized entry into the workplace
- Acts that deceive its employees
- Defaming the company or its employees on social media and online
- Sexual harassment
ANA’s Customer Harassment Policy it also includes snooping, stalking and indecent behavior — a chilling reminder of the situations airline workers can face in an industry that often he sees travelers at their worst.
The policies are meant to address a lack of clear standards that has made it difficult for employees to handle interactions with customers, said Yoshiko Miyashita, CS promotion’s vice president of customer experience management Nikkei Asia.
“This has put a significant strain on our employees, leading to cases where some have been forced to take time off,” he said.
Japan Airlines policy also authorizes airline staff to undergo harassment training — employees will be provided with manuals outlining how to respond quickly and appropriately to “malicious” behavior.
“We have also created aftercare support for the physical and mental health of our staff,” according to the airline.
Both airlines’ policies state that travelers who harass employers will be issued a warning, after which consequences can include denied boarding and police involvement.
Et tu, Japan?
In the United States, air rage incidents jumped from about 10 a month before the pandemic to about 500 a month in 2021 — the majority of which involved face mask compliance, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Incidents have declined rapidly since then, but “recent increases show that more work remains to be done,” according to the The FAA website.
Viral “air rage” incidents have not occurred on Asian airlines at the same rate as their Western counterparts, where a steady stream of flight crashes continues, though beyond crying babies and in-flight rules in a the wandering eye of the husband.
But that doesn’t mean Asia-based carriers are immune from these passengers — even in Japan, which has been named the kindest country in the world and one defined by the “Four P’s”: politeness, patience, accuracy and precision.
On June 5, a Japanese passenger caused a 40-minute delay on an Eva Air flight departing from Fukuoka City after berating China Airlines staff because she did not speak her mother tongue.
In January, an ANA flight returned to Tokyo after a drunken passenger bit a flight attendant, according to The Japan Times. The passenger, however, was reportedly a middle-aged American.
Amid rising cases of customer harassment in Japan, municipalities and companies are taking stricter measures to protect their workers.
Some municipal and prefectural authorities are removing employee names and photos from their name tags to prevent photos and personal information of staff members from being leaked online, according to local media.
