The Australian Federal Police (AFP) will be increasing its presence at all major airports across Australia as it gears up for a busy ‘schoolies’ travel period.
The move, which will see more drug detection dogs patrolling terminals, comes with a warning to school leavers to behave themselves at airports or face serious consequences including flight bans.
Speaking from Gold Coast Airport, the AFP said that offensive or unruly behaviour would not be tolerated. It defines unlawful behaviour as offences relating to intoxication, public disturbance, smoking in non-permitted areas, carrying prohibited items and incidents relating to assault.
The AFP has recorded 50 incidents around drunkenness and 10 incidents relating to assault at Gold Coast Airport alone over the past 12 months.
Along with flight bans, schoolies caught with illicit drugs could face up to two years of imprisonment.
“We don’t want to be the party police but the AFP will make arrests if passengers are intoxicated or causing a disturbance,” AFP Airport Police Commander at Gold Coast Airport Josh Kinghorn said, as schoolies prepare for their post-exam celebrations.
“We understand school leavers want to celebrate the end of their exams, but passengers and airport staff deserve to feel safe during their flight.
“If offensive or abusive behaviour occurs mid-flight, the AFP will be waiting at the terminal to arrest and escort offenders off the plane.”
Beyond the Gold Coast
The Gold Coast has traditionally been the most popular destination for schoolies, although prior to Covid-19, destinations such as Bali, Fiji and even Japan were gaining traction among school leavers.
According to the AFP, unruly travellers face a maximum penalty of a $9,000 fine (Section 256AA Civil Aviation Regulations -1988) for creating a disturbance on a plane, and two years’ imprisonment (Section 24 Civil Aviation Act 1988) for interfering with crew or aircraft.
