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Civil Aviation Act 2023

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

399: Offensive behaviour or words

You could also call this:

"No being rude or naughty on a plane"

Illustration for Civil Aviation Act 2023

If you are on an aircraft, you must not behave in a threatening, offensive, insulting, or disorderly manner. You also must not use threatening, offensive, or insulting words. If you do, you can be charged with an offence and fined up to $2,500 if you are convicted. You can defend yourself if you used offensive or insulting words, but only if you can prove you had a good reason to think no one would hear or see them.

You can be fined for using bad language or behaving badly on a plane. This law is similar to a law from 1990, which you can read more about in section 65K. The law is in place to keep everyone safe on flights.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS49793.

Topics:
Transport and travel > Air travelCrime and justice > Criminal law
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Part 9Monitoring, investigation, and enforcement
Unruly passenger offences: Unruly passenger offences

399Offensive behaviour or words

  1. A person commits an offence if, on any aircraft, the person—

  2. behaves in a threatening, offensive, insulting, or disorderly manner; or
    1. uses threatening, offensive, or insulting words.

      1. A person who commits an offence against subsection (1) is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,500.

      2. It is a defence in a prosecution under subsection (1)(b) 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.

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