cause chaos on busy flights.

The news comes following a complaint from a passenger on a British Airways flight from London which touched down in Bermuda on Tuesday.

The passenger, who had a small child, said that a number of drunken louts were disrupting the flight and blocking the aisles.

Yesterday a spokesperson for the airline confirmed that one passenger had to be removed from his seat and taken to the rear of the plane where cabin crew staff could keep a close eye on him following complaints.

But British Airways deputy manager Marianne Wilcox said the company had only just introduced tough measures to stamp out loutish or drunken behaviour in the air.

"We take these situations very seriously,'' Mrs. Wilcox said.

In common with most other air carriers British Airways is experiencing an increase in the frequency and severity of disruptive and drunken passengers at check-in, at the departure gate and on board the aircraft.

"This places unacceptable burdens on crew members and ground staff who face the risk of assault. This also conflicts with our goal to be a safe and secure airline and lowers the level of customer satisfaction of other passengers.

Last month we adopted tough new measures to curb drunkenness by air travellers and to support the safety and security of its passengers and staff.

"This new alcohol policy follows two recent court cases in Britain where jail sentences of up to two years were passed following assaults on airline cabin crew by drunken passengers.