Conference Dispax World 2026

Incidents involving unruly passengers are a daily occurrence aboard commercial flights around the world. Seemingly trivial issues can quickly escalate into explosive situations that jeopardize the safety of passengers and crew.

The long-awaited 6th edition of DISPAX World will take place in 2026 and will explore the wide range of causes behind such behaviour, the available responses, and the legal implications for airlines and States.

Day 1 Program

09:00am | Welcome to DISPAX World 2026

• Speaker: Philip Baum | Chair, DISPAX World 2026 & Managing Director, Green Light Ltd., United Kingdom

Session: Setting the Scene

09:10am | Opening Address

• Speaker: to be confirmed

09:35am | Crew Mental Health: peer support initiatives

• Speaker: to be confirmed

10:00am | Unruly Passengers in Context: who is responsible?

• Speaker: to be confirmed

10:20am | Unruly Passenger Incidents: the financial cost and emotional impact

• Moderator: Claudia-Roxana Rus | Senior Security & Safety Manager, Wizz Air Malta, Malta

10:40am | Meet Your Moderators

10:45am | Coffee Break

Session: Legal Perspectives – before departure, after arrival

11:15am | Opening Remarks from the Moderator

• Moderator: Susana Jardim | Head of Security & Regulatory Affairs, Hi Fly, Portugal

11:25am | Challenges in Maintaining a No-Fly List: booking management and strategies to avoid problematic passengers

• Moderator: Kelly Creegan | Aviation Security Advisor, easyJet, United Kingdom

11:50am | Reporting Onboard Disturbances: from evidence gathering to communicating with the appropriate law enforcement authorities

• Moderator: Capt. Mike Karn | Senior Manager of Flight Safety, American Airlines, USA

12:15pm | Understanding the Key Legal Issues: an academic analysis

• Speaker: to be confirmed

12:40pm | Q&A Panel

01:00pm | Lunch

Session: Lessons from Other Sectors and Operational Environments

02:00pm | Opening Remarks from the Moderator

• Moderator: Terry Upsall | Green Light Limited, United Kingdom

02:10pm | Lessons from Football-Related Disorder: is it time for aviation banning orders?

• Speaker: to be confirmed

02:35pm | Why Zero Tolerance Is Not the Answer: rigid enforcement undermines team confidence

• Moderator: Adam Hopper | National Lead for Prevention & Reduction of Violence against Ambulance Staff, The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, United Kingdom

03:00pm | The Night-Time Economy: transferable skills from nightclub door supervisors

• Moderator: Michael Kill | CEO, Night Time Industries Association; Chair, UK Door Supervisors Association; Vice-President, International Nightlife Association, United Kingdom
• Speaker: to be confirmed

03:20pm | Q&A Panel

03:30pm | Tea Break

Session: Sharing Best Practices and Aligning Communication | Discussion Panel

04:00pm

• EASA: John Franklin | Lead Safety Promotion & Communication Specialist, European Union Aviation Safety Agency, Germany
• National Authority: David Opsahl Moldskred | Acting Head of Flight Operations & Principal Cabin Inspector, Civil Aviation Authority, Norway
• Airline: Frédéric Wille | Manager of Integrated Safety & Compliance – Senior Cabin Crew, KLM, Netherlands
• Airport: Speaker: to be confirmed
• Law Enforcement: Speaker: to be confirmed

05:30pm | End of Day 1

Day 2 Programme

Session: Emerging Challenges

09:00am | Opening Remarks from the Moderator

• Moderator: Susana Jardim | Head of Security & Regulatory Affairs, Hi Fly, Portugal

09:10am | Geopolitical Tensions on the Ground: the impact in the skies

• Moderator: Philip Baum | Visiting Professor of Aviation Security, Coventry University & Managing Director, Green Light Limited, United Kingdom

09:35am | Incident Recordings: managing bystanders, preventing evidence dispersion, and the use of body cameras

• Speaker: to be confirmed

10:00am | Sexual Abuse in the Skies: risk factors and prevention

• Moderator: Dr. Elizabeth Jeglic | Professor of Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, USA

10:25am | Q&A Panel

10:40am | Coffee Break

Session: Passenger Health

11:10am | Opening Remarks from the Moderator

• Moderator: John Franklin | EASA, Germany

11:20am | Menopause: impact on passenger behaviour and crew response

• Moderator: Katie Taylor | CEO & Founder, The Latte Lounge; Author of “Midlife Matters”, United Kingdom

11:45am | From Risk to Response: non-visible disabilities and passenger behaviour

• Moderator: Annette Cmela | Brand Director, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, United Kingdom

12:10pm | Physical Restraint: aeromedical considerations

• Speaker: to be confirmed

12:40pm | Q&A Panel

01:00pm | Lunch

Session: Crew Mindset

02:00pm | Opening Remarks from the Moderator

• Moderator: Terry Upsall | Green Light Limited, United Kingdom

02:05pm | Ready to React: the psychology behind exceptional cabin crew performance

• Moderator: Caroline Creane | Senior Psychology Consultant, Symbiotics Ltd, United Kingdom

02:30pm | Overloaded Minds at 30,000 Feet: emotional hijack, misinterpretation and critical cabin decisions

• Moderator: An Gaiser | Founder & Managing Director, An Gaiser Consultancy BV, Netherlands

02:55pm | Creating a Safe Cabin Culture Starts on the Ground: useful techniques for managers, frontline teams and post-incident support

• Moderator: Chris Smith | Adjunct Professor, University of Southern Queensland; Captain & former Wellbeing Manager, Jetstar Airways; Author of "Leadership at 43000 Feet", Australia

03:20pm | Tea Break

Session: Airline Programmes in Focus

03:50pm | Opening Remarks from the Moderator

• Moderator: Terry Upsall | Green Light Limited, United Kingdom

03:55pm | EasyJet Managing Disruptive Behaviour: practical tools, mitigation tactics and incident reporting

• Moderators: Diana Stevens | Customer Operations Manager – Ground Ops & Sharon Fletcher | Cabin Safety Investigator, easyJet, United Kingdom

04:20pm | De-escalation Training Example: an airline’s approach

• Airline: to be confirmed

04:45pm | Restraint Demonstrations: three 10-minute on-stage scenarios

• Three different airlines will demonstrate their restraint techniques using different devices. Each presentation will follow the same format:
• a) Present the device used onboard;
• b) Simulate a realistic unruly passenger scenario;
• c) Repeat the application in slow motion.
• Airline A: to be confirmed
• Airline B: to be confirmed
• Airline C: to be confirmed
• Note: These demonstrations will only take place if three airlines volunteer to present their solutions on stage.

05:15pm | Quick-Fire Questions: responding to “what if?” scenarios

05:30pm | Conference Conclusion: What will you do differently next Monday morning?

• Moderator: Philip Baum | Chair, DISPAX World 2026 & Managing Director, Green Light Ltd., United Kingdom

05:45pm | End of Day 2