Investigating air passengers' acceptance level of unruly in-flight behavior

Service quality is an important issue for airlines. However, incidents of unruly passenger behavior(UPB) are increasing. Such incidents may have a negative impact on passengers' evaluation of theoverall service quality of an airline, making the maintenance of airline standards difficult. This studyinvestigates the relationship between acceptability of in-flight UPBs and traveler profile. Resultsshow that aggression and violence are the most unacceptable forms of UPB. Educational and culturalbackground, purpose of travel, travel frequency, and flight duration are the main factors influencingparticipants' acceptance of UPB. This study provides information on the acceptability of differentforms of UPB and the impact of different passenger characteristics. The study closes with the recommendationsto airlines for dealing with UPB.