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- It feels that only a few days go by between incidents involving belligerent airline passengers.
- The Federal Aviation Administration says people behaving badly on planes has reached an all-time high.
- FAA Spokesperson Taylor Garland said, “Air rage is not a new thing,” but “It’s the worst it’s ever been for sure.”
- FAA data says there have 3,615 reports of unruly passengers in 2021.
- Why is this a problem? Some of it has to do with COVID mask mandates, but that's not the only issue.
- Garland said, “Masks are certainly a part of it. It sets up a situation where flight attendants have to interact with passengers. But it is not just masks. It’s alcohol, and it’s routine safety reminders. Some of the worst offenders started when a flight attendant reminded a passenger to fasten their seatbelt for landing or pull up their tray table.”
- A new survey of 5,000 flight attendants from the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA found 85 percent of them have dealt with troublesome travelers this year.
- Garland hopes federal penalties will discourage the bad behavior.
- She said, "We believe that the laws are in place to prosecute the people who commit these horrible offenses on board. What we’re asking the DOJ is to really take these cases up quicker and make clear to the flying public that there are going to be consequences on the ground. Justice can be slow sometimes but the issue is so severe that we’re really imploring the Department of Justice to get on it.”