MOSCOW, April 1 (RIA Novosti) - In view of the increasing incidence of "air hooliganism" by boozed passengers flying to Cuba, Aeroflot has decided to begin on April 2 attendance of SU333/334 Moscow-Havana-Moscow flights by officers of the Aviation Safety Service. RIA Novosti learnt this from official spokesman for Aeroflot Irina Dannenberg on Friday.
Asked why "air hooliganism" is wide-spread in precisely flights to Cuba, she explained that "they are long and many passengers indulge in alcohol". "Similar measures to ensure safety for passengers are now practiced in the Moscow-Bangkok-Moscow service", she added.
Since the Russian laws are mild to "air hooligans", the only efficient way to prevent in-flight abuse of public order is flight attendance by specially trained officers. "This generally-recognized world practice helps in preventing up to 40 percent of hooliganism on an average", Dannenberg said.
In 2004 Aeroflot registered 26 cases of back-flight refusal to offender passengers. "None of them has been protested in court", added the Aeroflot spokesman.
