Whose rules rule in the skies? When you’re cruising at 30,000 feet, is it the country you’re flying over, the country you’re landing in or another country’s laws?
On a domestic flight, passengers who are drunk and disorderly, who assault crew or other passengers or try to wrestle open an emergency exit door are liable for prosecution under the laws of the country in which the aircraft is operating. But on an international flight, it becomes more complicated.
The laws that apply on flights can vary and can affect things like who can be served alcohol.Credit: iStock
Offences committed on international flights fall under the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, more commonly known as the Tokyo Convention. Under the convention, when the aircraft is in flight, acts that threaten the safe operation of the aircraft, threaten other passengers, or offend or intimidate anyone on an international flight are subject to the relevant laws in the country of registration of the aircraft.
In January 2024, a heavily intoxicated American passenger on an ANA flight from Tokyo to Seattle bit a cabin crew member’s arm. The aircraft was an hour into its flight and could have continued to Seattle, but the pilot chose to return to Japan, the aircraft’s country of registration so that the biter could be dealt with under Japanese law.
In January 2022, an Irish passenger on a Delta flight from Dublin to New York was violent, abusive and disruptive, refusing to wear a mask or a seatbelt, baring his buttocks, violently kicking the seat back of the passenger in front and threatening the captain. The obnoxious behaviour began almost as soon as he was on board, yet the aircraft, registered in the US, continued to New York, where he faced charges under US law.
Since an aircraft on an international route is governed by the laws in its country of registration, the Tokyo Convention creates some curious anomalies. If an 18-year-old travels aboard a Qantas flight between Australia and the US, they can be served alcohol, but if that same teenager flies aboard United Airlines, they can’t since the minimum drinking age in the US is 21.
During the pandemic, when some countries required passengers flying aboard their airlines to wear masks, passengers on other carriers flying the same route could fly mask-free if the country in which the aircraft was registered didn’t require it.
Where the Tokyo Convention falls short
The Tokyo Convention was adopted in 1963, and the increasing frequency of passengers behaving badly in the intervening years exposed a shortcoming. When a violent incident takes place on an international flight, the aircraft might not land at its country of registration to allow the perpetrator to face prosecution.