Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Civil Aviation Act 2023

Monitoring, investigation, and enforcement - Unruly passenger offences - Unruly passenger offences

395: Disruptive conduct towards crew member

You could also call this:

"Be respectful to airline crew or you could get in trouble with the law"

Illustration for Civil Aviation Act 2023

If you are on an aircraft, you must not use threatening, offensive, or insulting words towards a crew member. You also must not behave in a threatening, offensive, insulting, or disorderly manner towards a crew member. If you do, you can get in trouble with the law.

If you interfere with a crew member's work, you can get in trouble too. This includes behaving in a way that stops a crew member from doing their job, or intentionally stopping them from doing their job.

You can be fined up to $5,000 if you use offensive words or behave badly towards a crew member, or if you interfere with their work without meaning to. But if you intentionally interfere with a crew member's work, you can be imprisoned for up to 2 years, or fined up to $10,000, or both.

It is okay to say something you might think is offensive if you have a good reason to think the crew member will not hear or see it. When the law talks about "words", it means anything you say, write, gesture, or draw that conveys a message, including pictures or descriptions. You can compare this law to a similar one from the 1990 No 98 act.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS49783.

Topics:
Transport and travel > Air travelCrime and justice > Criminal law
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394: Passenger endangering safety, or

"Don't put people or planes in danger when you're a passenger on a flight"

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396: Interference with aircraft, or

"Don't touch or tamper with planes or their parts without a good reason"

Part 9Monitoring, investigation, and enforcement
Unruly passenger offences: Unruly passenger offences

395Disruptive conduct towards crew member

  1. A person commits an offence if, while in an aircraft, the person—

  2. uses any threatening, offensive, or insulting words towards a crew member; or
    1. behaves in a threatening, offensive, insulting, or disorderly manner towards a crew member; or
      1. behaves in a manner that interferes with a crew member’s performance of the crew member’s duties; or
        1. intentionally interferes with a crew member’s performance of the crew member’s duties.

          1. A person who commits an offence against subsection (1)(a), (b), or (c) is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.

          2. A person who commits an offence against subsection (1)(d) is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine not exceeding $10,000, or both.

          3. It is a defence in a prosecution under subsection (1)(a) for using offensive or insulting words if the defendant proves that the defendant had reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant’s words would not be overheard or seen by a crew member.

          4. In this section, words includes—

          5. words that are written, printed, gestured, or spoken; and
            1. any pictorial representation or visual description of words.

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