Pilbara airport boss’ stunning rebuke: “mining towns worst for obscene, abusive drunks”

Port Hedland International Airport staff are “sick to death” of dealing with drunk and abusive passengers threatening workers and “terrifying” fellow travellers with obscene behaviour on and off the tarmac on a weekly basis. General manager Rod Evans, who has worked in airports across Australia for more than 30 years, said his staff would no longer stand for “abusive” substance-induced behaviour. The issue came to a head last Tuesday when a drunk man, who boarded a midday flight, verbally threatened airport staff and yelled obscenities in the lounge. The man was denied boarding after police were called to de-escalate the incident. Mr Evans said it was not an isolated event at the airport, which attracted more than 400,000 passengers a year, with police called to an incident involving a drunk man wielding a wooden stake last year. In another incident, police had to physically escort two men off a plane after , following an incident on board the aircraft that concerned attracted the concern of fellow passengers and cabin flight crew. Down the road in Newman a man who was “violent” and “carrying on like a pork chop” according to onlookers had to be physically restrained at the airport on February 7. Mr Evans said regional economies driven by mining, oil and gas produced the most obscene and abusive actions at airports. Mr Evans recalled how several years ago emergency services were called to resuscitate a road-train driver “passed out” at a security check point because of a heroin overdose. “We have people turning up to this airport drunk and affected by alcohol all the time; we have people who drink in the carpark, we have people that bring alcohol into the terminal and into the cafe,” he said. “About two to three times each week people would be denied boarding, denied alcohol, told to tone things down and police are called. “The check-in staff, the security staff and I deal with this daily ... we have had enough and we are not putting up with it anymore. “I don’t know about you ... but I don’t want to be at 30,000ft with some of the numbnuts that are getting on these flights.” Flight captains are the only people with the authority to refuse boarding to passengers deemed at risk. Port Hedland police officer-in-charge Snr-Sgt Steve Cleal said officers, who were often called to incidents at the terminal, were “drained” dealing with the problem. “The issue hasn’t increased but it is ongoing and we have had enough,” he said. Sgt Cleal said police were not required to deal with drunk passengers, but had attended PHIA because of subsequent anti-social behaviour. “It’s now black and white; regardless of anti-social behaviour, you will be banned from flights if you appear intoxicated,” he warned. Walkabout owner Neal Jones-Guilmartin, who works opposite the airport, said they did not don’t serve intoxicated patrons.