US: Number of unruly air travelers lower, still too high
Federal officials say unruly passengers are becoming a bit less common on airline flights, but they are still causing disruptions at twice the rate of late last year
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The rate of unruly passengers on airline flights is down sharply from early this year but is mostly unchanged over the past three months and remains more than twice the level seen in late 2020, according to government figures.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday took credit for the recent decrease, linking it to the agency's use of larger fines against violators. Those fines have added up to more than $1 million.
“Our work is having an impact and the trend is moving in the right direction," said FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson, “but we need the progress to continue. This remains a serious safety threat.”
At a congressional hearing Thursday, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., called for more criminal prosecutions of unruly passengers. He also said airports should stop concessioners from selling alcohol to go.
“Get a great big to-go cup with four shots in it and take it on the airplane — that needs to end," he said.
Criminal prosecutions are rare, and usually left up to local authorities. The Justice Department said it filed charges in federal court for 16 defendants in a recent 10-month period, according to travel publication Skift
The FAA said this week that airlines have reported 4,385 events involving rowdy passengers this year, with 73% of them involving passengers who refuse to wear face masks, which are required on flights by federal rule.
Airlines reported about six incidents of disruptive passengers for every 10,000 flights last week, the FAA said. That is about the same as late June but down about half from February and March. It is more than twice as high as the rate of 2.45 incidents per 10,000 flights during the last three months of 2020.
FAA figures show that the spike began in late January, including several flights that were disrupted by people flying to a rally in Washington for then-President Donald Trump