The Business Ethics Blog

Not sure what to say (or even think) about this. The Chinese government is apparently threatening airlines for the misbehaviour of passengers.

From Reuters: Punishing airlines whose passengers misbehave

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will punish airlines whose passengers refuse to disembark or misbehave in protest over problems like delayed flights, an official said on Thursday, as the Olympics host tries to lift standards before the Games.

Frustration at mysterious delays and abrupt diversions and cancellations have at times boiled over into violence at Chinese airports, with passengers trying to storm grounded aircraft and police having to be brought in to keep the peace.

There have also been cases in which passengers, after delayed arrivals, have refused to get off aircraft in protest.

Deputy head of the civil aviation regulator, Yang Guoqing, said enough was enough after numerous warnings to airlines to treat their passengers better appeared to have failed.

On the face of it, it’s odd to punish the airlines for the behaviour of passengers (as opposed to punishing them for their own failings). Of course, in some of the cases discussed, passenger misbehaviour was apparently due to crummy service on the part of the airline. But in others, uncontrollable factors, such as weather, played a big role. Perhaps the Chinese government is taking The Godfather’s line on strict liability: “Accidents don’t happen to people who take accidents as a personal insult.”