Urgent plea over dangerous trend as ‘hammered' travellers cause chaos at Australia's international airports

7NEWS

6 days ago

The Australian Border Force (ABF) has issued a plea for Australians to behave at airports after a spike in travellers arriving home on international flights drunk and abusive.
ABF Assistant Commissioner Chris Waters said in the past eight months, far too many officers have been abused and assaulted.
'Some people are really hammered, to be frank. Some people start taking their clothes off, and some get very aggressive, even punching holes in the wall,' he said.
'We've had some of our officers threatened to be 'knocked out'. We've had phones thrown at our officers, assaults on them, and verbal abuse. It just won't be tolerated.'
'We've seen a rise through all the airports coming into Australia.'
It's suspected to be a combination of travellers loading up on booze before and during flights home and the ABF has declared it has zero tolerance for aggression against its staff.
'People are really taking drinking too far on the plane,' Mr Waters said.
'We're working closely with the airlines in relation to this issue, because their staff also have issues in relation to abusive behaviour, as well as the duty-free staff, and other staff within the airports.'
'The police will prosecute those offenses, and some countries might not allow you to get a visa if you've got such serious offences against your name.'
Shocking behaviour caught on camera
ABF has provided shocking CCTV footage of several recent cases that can been seen exclusively on 7NEWS at 6pm tonight.
One involved a man returning from Kuala Lumpur heavily intoxicated in March when it was alleged he became disruptive and swore during a baggage search.
The man can then be seen pulling down his pants on several occasions and exposing himself.
He then thew his mobile phone, hitting an ABF officer.
Charged with common assault, disorderly behaviour and two counts of indecent acts, the man pleaded guilty and was fined $1500.
Where most intoxicated passengers are travelling from
According to the ABF, officers working at the airport are confronted with drunk and aggressive passengers at least a few times every day.
Assistant Commissioner Waters said the offending passengers arrive from all kinds of destinations, sometimes over-indulging on long-haul flights.
But often it is shorter flights when the travellers may also be intoxicated before boarding.
'This is not total, but our experience is it's mostly from Southeast Asian countries returning home,' he said.
'Potentially, it is the shorter flights, potentially the cheaper alcohol in those countries, that's where we see the trend.'
'We've had some folk coming back from Bali who have been hammered and have been quite aggressive to our staff.'
In April a man arriving at Perth Airport from Thailand became aggressive after he was selected for a routine baggage search.
When officers told the man they would be seizing a carton of undeclared cigarettes, he allegedly punch a hole in a wall.
He was escorted from the airport by Federal Police and charged with criminal damage.
Intoxication making air travel 'much, much worse'
'It is a stressful time coming through airports, I absolutely accept that, but if you're intoxicated, it's just going to make it much, much worse,' Assistant Commissioner Waters said.
'You've got to fill in your incoming passenger card, that's your opportunity to declare things and if somebody is intoxicated, they might not understand what they're ticking or not fill it in correctly.'
'That causes us then to engage with them, and that is when the aggressiveness sometimes occurs.'
Visas cancelled
In 2024, ABF officers processed over 41-million international air travellers.
Commissioner Chris Waters said officers working at airports are on alert to intercept drug-traffickers, child abusers, and dangerous criminals.
Important work, which he said does not need drunken travellers to distract his staff from.
'It does take valuable resources away from what our officers could be doing in other parts of the airport,' he said.
'If it was a licensed venue, those people would be turned away, but Australians returning home, we have to allow them in, which is, you know, fair.'
'But if people are on visas who misbehave, then there is an opportunity for us to cancel their visa and to return them home.'
In another recent case a Chinese national arrived in Australia and refused to answer questions about his travel and became violent. He also made repeated threats of physical harm against ABF officers, including threats of knife violence.
That man's visa was cancelled, and he was sent home on the next available flight.
'My advice is don't get hammered on the plane, don't be a muppet when you come back through the airport, treat our officers with respect,' Mr Waters said.
'Because they could be your sons, or daughters, or brothers, or sisters, and we're all just trying to do a good job and keeping Australia safe.'