FAA reveals behavior of 43 passengers was so bad they were referred to FBI

Unruly passenger reports have decreased by more than 80 percent since 2021, but are still too frequent, the FAA said

Passengers who get rowdy on airplanes may find themselves not only banned from certain airlines but also on the FBI's radar.

The Federal Aviation Administration has revealed that it had referred 43 reports of unruly passenger behavior to the FBI over the last year. In total, the FAA has sent more than 310 such reports to the FBI since 2021.

While the FAA says the number of incidents involving rude or out-of-control passengers is still too high, there has been a significant decrease in such cases since 2021.

The primary driver of the bad behavior that year, so far as the FAA can tell, was stress caused by flying during the coronavirus pandemic.

This year, airlines have sent the FAA more than 1,240 reports concerning disruptive passengers. In 2021, airlines sent almost 6,000 such reports.

A Skywest Airlines aircraft is guided on the tarmac at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah, Ky., Dec. 27, 2017. The FAA said in August 2024 that the number of unruly passenger reports on flights have decreased by more than 80 percent since 2021, but are still too frequent

Despite the high number of reports, very few are deemed serious enough to warrant FBI investigation and possible criminal prosecution, according to ABC News.

The FAA said that the rate of incidents has dropped by more than 80 percent since early 2021, noting that many involved passengers fighting with airline attendants over mask requirements during the pandemic.

Back in January 2021, the FAA initiated a "zero-tolerance policy" allowing it to dole out fines and issue warning letters to scrappy passengers. Later that year, the FBI agreed to prosecute more trouble-making passengers.

Masking requirements ended in 2022, and incidents have decreased since then.

The FAA said in a statement on Wednesday that, regardless of the reason, passengers shouldn't be causing trouble for workers on flights.

“There’s absolutely no excuse for unruly behavior,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said. “It threatens the safety of everyone on board, and we have zero tolerance for it.”

Incidents of unruly behavior range from arguments with and even assaults of flight attendants to, in one case, a passenger trying to sneak into the cockpit. Conflicts between passengers also can result in airlines filing behavior reports to the FAA.

If the situation is serious enough, the FAA will refer it to the FBI, as the air travel regulator does not have the power to file criminal charges against passengers. It can, however, propose civil penalties up to $37,000.