The number of incidents of air rage at Dutch airports and on planes has almost doubled in the first six months of this year, and rows over cabin baggage may be behind the surge, the Telegraaf reported on Friday.

Transport ministry inspectors recorded 705 incidents in the first six months of the year, compared with 470 in the year earlier period, the paper said, quoting ILT figures.

The report highlights March and April as particular problem months, coinciding with the introduction of charges for cabin baggage on Transavia planes, the paper said.  

A spokesman for the budget airline confirmed the increase in “unacceptable behaviour” but did not go into the cause.

“We’ve had a lot of reports of passengers exploding in fury when they were told they had to pay extra for hand baggage,” union spokesman David van de Geer said. “But their number is still below the number of incidents involving smoking on board or people refusing to put on their seat belts.”

“This is a worrying development which we recognise,” said Coen George, from the Dutch air traffic association VNV. “More needs to be done… and that is why we need a blacklist.” The unions have been campaigning for years for a blacklist but the efforts have been bogged down in privacy concerns.  

Not all the airlines report an increase in trouble. KLM told the Telegraaf the number of incidents is in line with 2023 while TUI said it had dealt with fewer problems.