Disorderly Airline Passengers Are Disappearing in the U.S.: 'We Are Addressing This Issue Aggressively.' Incidents involving unruly air travelers abounded during the pandemic. Where are they now?
By Amanda Breen Edited by Jessica Thomas
Key Takeaways
- Cases of unruly airline passenger behavior are down 80% since their peak in 2021.
- But data also shows that such incidents remain relatively high compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Air travel became an even more unpleasant experience during the pandemic — with unruly passengers making headlines left and right.
But cases of bad passenger behavior are down 80% since their peak in 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said, per NPR.
The FAA recorded 5,973 cases of unruly passenger behavior in 2021 — and just 1,117 episodes in 2023 as of Monday.
Related: Man Arrested At JFK Airport For Allegedly Peeing On Passenger
The incidents that unfolded between December 2021 and April 2023 included physical assault, yelling and cursing, vaping, refusing to remain seated, sexual misconduct toward flight attendants and sexually assaulting other passengers, including minors, and 22 of them were reported to the FBI.
Some experts attribute the decline to relaxed Covid protocols and reduced stress levels. Others suggest that "an overall increase in a feeling of self-entitlement" and desire to assert authority post-pandemic mean that these kinds of incidents are here to stay, NBC News reported.
Of the more than 5,000 disobedient passenger episodes in 2021, roughly 72% of them were traced to conflicts over masking rules, yet FAA data also reveals that such incidents remain relatively high, even with loosened mandates and lower incident rates overall, per the outlet.
Related: Delta Pushes Airlines to Create a National 'No Fly' List of Unruly Passengers
"Unruly behavior poses serious safety concerns for passengers and crew alike, which is why we are addressing this issue aggressively," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, per NPR.
