‘Artificial Turbulence’ Calms Ryanair Rowdies
Ryanair has been hitting more than its share of turbulence recently but some of it is the “artificial” kind. The Irish budget carrier does a lot of business delivering countrymen…
An airplane of the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair takes off from Barcelona’s airport on September 01, 2010. Irish low-cost airline Ryanair said it had overtaken Spanish flag carrier Iberia as the largest airline in Spain in terms of the number of passengers carried. The company quoted official statistics from Spain’s airport authority AENA showing that Ryanair in July transported 2.98 million passengers to or from Spain, compared to 2.77 million for Iberia. AFP PHOTO / JOSEP LAGO (Photo credit should read JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images)
Ryanair has been hitting more than its share of turbulence recently but some of it is the “artificial” kind. The Irish budget carrier does a lot of business delivering countrymen to “party islands” in Spain and Greece. The party sometimes starts long before the passengers get to the gate and flight attendants have a hard time ensuring their charges are safe. That’s where “artificial turbulence” comes in.
"Sometimes if the passengers are being annoying then the cabin crew ask us to turn the seatbelt signs on as if there's turbulence, just so everyone sits down and the cabin crew can relax,” an unnamed pilot told British media. A flight attendant confirmed the white lie is used from time to time. "We refer to it as our artificial turbulence, and yes it happens.” The FA said its use depends on the pilot but it’s apparently a common theme. "It depends on pilots how often it's done," the FA said. "Some don't like to do it, some love to do it. I have had flights where I have stopped service all together because passengers don't have any manners."
