FAA: Unruly Airline Passengers on the Rise; FBI Receives 22 More Cases

FAA is not happy with the rising numbers of unruly airline passengers. The Federal Aviation Administration even referred 22 more cases involving disruptive travelers to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

FAA: Unruly Airline Passengers on the Rise

(Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) Airline passengers, some not wearing face masks following the end of Covid-19 public transportation rules, sit during an American Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in California to Denver, Colorado on April 19, 2022.

According to USA Today's latest report, the number of unruly passengers is on the rise. FAA said that numerous airlines reported over 1,100 incidents of disruptive travelers from January to July 2023 alone.

Although it is below the full-year record of 5,973 in 2021, the fact that 2023 still has four months to go, the unruly passenger record is alarming.

The International Air Transport Association also released its database, showing that one unruly incident was recorded in every 568 flights in 2022.

This is higher compared to the year 2021, which had 1 per 835 flights.

"It seems like behaving angry and belligerent has become more acceptable in the last five to seven years," said University of Texas psychology Prof. Jared Kenworthy.

He added that getting pissed off and angry all the time is now more acceptable to people across the globe.

"It may be because everybody's putting them on social media," explained the psychology professor.

FAA Reports 22 New Unruly Passenger Cases

(Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images) A departures board shows cancellations after Lufthansa flights were canceled during a strike by Lufthansa cabin crew at Tegel Airport on September 4, 2012, in Berlin, Germany. Lufthansa cabin crew members are striking at Frankfurt and Berlin airports.

Yahoo Finance reported that FAA referred 22 more cases involving unruly passengers to the FBI.

The aviation agency said that these cases could possibly face criminal charges.

Allegations against the 22 unruly passengers include terror threats, sexually harassing female passengers, as well as assaulting flight attendants.

FAA said that some of these incidents happened way back in 2021 and as recently as April.

The aviation administration's officials said that they want to fine up to $37,000.
However, they can't implement these penalties for unruly travelers since FAA lacks the authority to do so.

This is why it refers these cases to the FBI. If you don't want to be included in the unruly cases that FAA sends to the FBI, here are the behaviors commonly considered disruptive:

Drinking alcohol you brought on board.
Failure to store luggage when requested or exceeding the carry-on limit.
Smoking in the restrooms or cabin. These include the use of vapes, e-cigarettes, and traditional cigarettes.
Not fastening seat belts as directed.

If you want to learn more details about the worsening number of unruly passengers that the FAA faces, you can click this link.