Fight or flight: unruly passenger incidents down 80% since 2021
Incidents of unruly passenger behaviour onboard aircraft are down by over 80% since “record highs” in early 2021, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has revealed, which has nevertheless referred more than 310 “of the most serious cases to the FBI” in the ensuing period.
A partnership initiated in 2021 saw the two organisations join forces to “develop an efficient method for referring the most serious unruly passenger cases for potential criminal prosecution,” resulting in a protocol wherein the FAA would routinely “refer unruly passenger cases to the FBI for criminal case review”.
During the last year, the FAA has referred 43 more cases of the over 1,240 instances of unacceptable behaviour reported by airlines. These include examples of physical and sexual assault, and aggressive, disruptive and threatening behaviour towards crewmembers and aircraft. One individual attempted to breach the flight deck, another few tried to open exit doors during flight, whilst a passenger in January 2023 is listed as having “threatened to harm everyone on board and crash the aircraft”.
“There’s absolutely no excuse for unruly behaviour,” stated FAA administrator Mike Whitaker. “It threatens the safety of everyone on board and we have zero tolerance for it”. The FAA can currently impose civil penalties of up to $37,000 per violation against passengers found in breach of conduct, with individuals also at risk of being placed on an airline’s no-fly list or even facing a felony conviction and jail time.
During 2023, 512 investigations were initiated by the FAA from over 2,075 unruly passenger reports; resulting in 402 enforcement actions taken and over $7.5 million in fines levied.
