Tension and anger are sky high in America…or at least, there’s tension and anger in the sky.
Unruly behavior on airplanes has soared in 2021. There have been 3,900 incidents that have warranted a formal report. In a typical year, that number tops out at 150. The Federal Aviation Administration has levied over a million dollars in fines.
According to the FAA, 71% of incidents involve passengers who refuse to comply with the industry’s mask mandate.
Inebriation is also a consistent issue. ABC News writes that “airline crews have reported incidents in which visibly drunk passengers verbally abused them, shoved them, kicked seats, threw trash at them, defiled the restrooms and in some cases even punched them in the face.”
This week, American Airlines extended its ban on main cabin alcohol consumption through the end of the year. Southwest Airlines adopted a similar policy. The FAA has asked airports to avoid over serving passengers waiting for their flight.
“Our investigations show that alcohol often contributes to this unsafe behavior,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson wrote to airport officials on Aug. 3. “The FAA requests that airports work with their concessionaires to help avoid this.”
NBC News reports on some of the most egregious cases:
The most extreme incident involved a passenger on a JetBlue flight from New York to Orlando on May 24 who was fined $45,000 after allegedly throwing objects at other passengers, refusing to stay seated and lying on the aisle floor, according to the FAA. The passenger was also accused of grabbing a flight attendant by her ankles and putting his head up her skirt, which forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in Richmond, Virginia.
Another incident on a JetBlue flight from New York to San Francisco on May 16 involved a passenger who was accused of snorting what appeared to be cocaine, which crew members later confiscated, according to the FAA.
Unruly behavior has become so persistent, that some flight attendants are receiving self-defense training.
“It’s just more imperative that we take care of ourselves and take care of our passengers because people are anxious, and they’re upset, and they’re frustrated, and sometimes that comes out inappropriately,” a flight attendant named Carrie told CNN.
“We are finding that our jobs are harder than ever,” Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, added. “Conflict is rising very quickly. When we can’t get to that and diffuse that because we have so much going on … problems can become big very quickly.”