The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says there has been an unsettling increase in unruly behavior and violent incidents aboard commercial flights, a disturbing trend it described as being 'off the charts.'
In a typical year, the FAA logs 100 to 150 formal cases of bad passenger behavior. But since the start of this year the number of reported cases has jumped to 1,300. That's a dramatic increase with something of an oxymoronic twist - incidents are way, way up but passenger levels are still way, way down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
But some point to one of the main reasons for such cases having such a huge increase - failure or refusal to wear mandated face masks.
Bad behavior also includes drinking excessively and engaging in alleged physical or verbal assault, including what the agency describes as political intimidation and harassment of lawmakers, according to NBC News.
"It is not permissible and we will not tolerate interfering with a flight crew and the performance of their safety duties. Period," Stephen Dickson, the administrator of the FAA, said of the wave of incidents.
The FAA is now taking a "zero-tolerance" approach to poor behavior: Unruly passengers face potential criminal charges, fines up to $35,000 or lifetime bans on certain airlines.
Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants union, said airline employees have reported a wide range of troubling incidents.
"What we have seen on our planes is flight attendants being physically assaulted, pushed, choked," Nelson said. "We have (had) a passenger urinate. We had a passenger spit into the mouth of a child on board. These are some of the things that we have been dealing with."
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