DISRUPTIVE airline passengers who put the lives of others at risk will be severely dealt with in a new clampdown by Greater Manchester Police.

More than 35 airlines which use Manchester Airport have already signed up to the new protocol which sets out what everyone involved with a troublesome passenger should do.

The police have pledged to investigate all allegations of bad behaviour.

And airlines have agreed to make sure witnesses can be contacted by police.

Problems on flights are rare as more than 17 million passengers travelled through Manchester Airport last year and there were only 50 incidents involving disruptive passengers.

A police spokesman said domestic arguments, nervousness and alcohol can all start trouble.

Offenders are often middle-aged people whose behaviour on the ground is exemplary.

Superintendent Tim Burgess, commander of GMP's airport subdivision, said: "While air travel remains extremely safe, any disruptive behaviour during a flight can place the lives of others at risk. "The courts are taking the whole issue of disruptive passengers very seriously indeed.

"They are likely to impose a custodial sentence on anyone found guilty, regardless of age, previous good character, or even if it's a first offence."

Recent convictions include a passenger jailed for six months for drunkenness and assault, a man jailed for 18 months for drunkenness and indecent assault, and a passenger jailed for two years for endangering an aircraft.

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