There is a "concerning trend" in the number of unruly passengers, according to national carrier Air New Zealand.
The airline said there have been nearly 200 reports a month of "unacceptable customer behaviour" — people refusing to follow instructions, being verbally and physically abusive, and disruptive.
Air New Zealand's chief operational integrity and safety officer Captain David Morgan said the severity and impact of such incidents has increased over time.
"We have zero tolerance for such behaviour and will take action to ensure that abusive customers are no longer able to travel with us if needed to ensure the safety of our team and customers."
The airline issues between five and 10 ban letters to customers each month for a range of disruptive and unacceptable behaviours, repeated failure to follow crew instructions and intoxication.
The bans range from 24 hours to permanently, meaning people cannot use Air New Zealand services.
Data from the International Air Association (IATA) earlier this year showed there was one unruly incident reported for every 568 flights in 2022. This was up from one per 835 flights in 2021.
The association, which represents around 320 airlines comprising 83% of global air traffic, said there had been an "alarming increase" of 61% over 2021 of physical abuse. Incidents occurred once every 17,200 flights.
IATA deputy director general called the rising number of incidents "worrying".
"While our professional crews are well trained to manage unruly passenger scenarios, it is unacceptable that rules in place for everyone's safety are disobeyed by a small but persistent minority of passengers.
"No one wants to stop people having a good time when they go on holiday — but we all have a responsibility to behave with respect for other passengers and the crew."
In light of this, Air New Zealand is asking travellers to "embrace the spirit of Christmas" and show respect to fellow passengers and its staff.
"We want to thank all of those customers who go the extra mile to say thank you to our front line staff and are considerate of others — this makes such a difference to what are often long, busy days for our people at this time of year," Morgan said.
The airline is expected to fly over a million domestic passengers until the end of January, and 700,000 internationally.
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