Administrative Monetary Penalties To Be Imposed On Unruly Passengers Under Turkish Law

I. Definition of an Unruly Passenger

According to the Regulation on Administrative Monetary Penalties to be Imposed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (SHY-IPC) (Official Gazette, Date: 29.01.2013, Number: 28543), an unruly passenger is defined as: “A person who, during the period from boarding the aircraft until the doors are opened after landing, engages in conduct that endangers the order or safety of passengers or crew, damages equipment on the aircraft, makes threats, or fails to comply with the provisions of civil aviation legislation and the instructions of the crew.” (Art. 3/1, çç).

II. Issuing a Warning and Drawing up a Report

If an unruly passenger continues to commit one of the violations specified in this Regulation despite a warning, the violation shall be documented in a report to be drawn up by three persons: the captain of the aircraft and two cabin crew members. This report shall include the full name of the person concerned, their Turkish ID number if they are a Turkish citizen, and their address information if ascertainable. For foreign nationals, the report shall include their full name, passport number, and address information, if ascertainable (Art. 5/1). In order to draw up a report on an unruly passenger, the individual must be verbally warned that their conduct is contrary to the instructions of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and that, if they fail to cease such conduct, a report will be drawn up for the imposition of an administrative monetary penalty in the amount specified in the Regulation (Art. 5/2).

III. Submission of the Report to the DGCA

The report regarding the unruly passenger shall be submitted to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation with the joint signatures of the quality system manager and the accountable manager, following an investigation and reconciliation conducted by the relevant airline with its own personnel who signed the report. The Directorate General may request additional information and documents from the airline and the concerned parties as necessary (Art. 5/3).”

IV. Payment Period, Place, and Collection of Administrative Monetary Penalties

The administrative monetary penalty shall be paid into the account of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation within one month from the notification of the administrative sanction decision (Art. 9/1). If the person pays the administrative monetary penalty before applying to the legal remedies specified under a separate heading below, three-quarters of the penalty shall be collected. Advance payment does not affect the person’s right to apply to legal remedies against this decision (Art. 9/2). Where the person subject to the administrative monetary penalty is not in a favorable economic condition, provided that the first installment is paid in advance and an application is made to the tax office within one month, the tax office may decide that the penalty be paid within one year in four equal installments. If the installments are not paid in full and on time, the remaining balance of the administrative monetary penalty shall be collected in its entirety (Art. 9/3). In cases where finalized administrative monetary penalties are not paid within the payment period or, in the case of installment payments, where installments are not paid in full and on time, the unpaid administrative monetary penalties shall be pursued and collected by the relevant tax office in accordance with the provisions of the Law No. 6183 on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables, dated 21 July 1953 (Art. 9/4).

V. Appeal Against Administrative Monetary Penalties

Appeals against administrative monetary penalties may be filed with the Criminal Judgeship of Peace within fifteen days from the date of notification. If no appeal is filed within this period, the administrative monetary penalties shall become final (Art. 11/1). In appeals concerning penalties imposed on unruly passengers, the burden of proof shall rest with the relevant airline (Art. 5/4).

VI. Administrative Monetary Penalty Amount Applicable in 2026

In accordance with the Law on Misdemeanors No. 5326 (Art. 17/7), the administrative monetary penalties specified in the Regulation shall be applied by being increased at the revaluation rate for each year, effective from the beginning of each calendar year. The Communiqué on the Revaluation of Administrative Monetary Penalties Contained in the Regulation on Administrative Monetary Penalties to be Imposed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (2026/2) entered into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette dated December 29, 2025, and numbered 33122.

Pursuant to the Tax Procedure Law General Communiqué (Serial No. 585), prepared by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and published in the Official Gazette dated 27 November 2025 and numbered 33090, the revaluation rate for the year 2025 has been determined and announced as 25.49 percent (twenty-five point forty-nine). Accordingly, as of 1 January 2026, the amount of the administrative monetary penalty to be imposed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on unruly passengers for violations of the flight rules set out in the table below shall be applied as 24,681 Turkish Lira.