by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:30 AM ET, Wed March 8, 2017
Russian low-cost carrier Pobeda Airlines has announced plans to teach its employees self-defense methods after a series of attacks on team members by passengers and dissatisfied customers.
According to the Daily Mail, officials from Pobeda Airlines will begin instructing ground staff in forms of martial arts, including sambo and judo. The low-cost carrier considered hiring a private security company to protect airline staff but said the additional cost would drive ticket prices up by two percent.
Pobeda Airlines is instead offering employees self-defense courses, which will help people protect themselves while also keeping costs down. The decision was made after a series of attacks, including a man who missed his flight punching an airline manager.
The victim required medical attention to his head and face from the attack, and the disgruntled passenger was arrested by police officers at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow a short time later.
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"We've found a better option (than a private security company) and will train employees [in] sambo and judo," Pobeda Airlines general director Andrey Kalmykov said. "In this case, we will not have to raise ticket prices."
Officials from parent company, Aeroflot, have called on the Russian government to increase penalties for aggressive passengers and even proposed a black list of passengers who can be denied boarding or restrained during flights.
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