How Unruly Do Airline Passengers Have to Be Before the Government Decides to Prosecute?
Skift Take
The rise of unruly passengers is getting out of hand. If the airline industry and government want to nip it in the bud, more aggressive prosecution is needed. Period.
As Labor Day weekend approaches, unruly airline passenger cases are spiraling out of control despite repeated efforts by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to levy fines and dispel this behavior. Criminal prosecutions for disrupting flights seem to be the missing ingredients in lowering these incidents.
Since adopting a zero-tolerance policy that implemented stricter law enforcement for unruly passengers in January, FAA fines issued for unruly flyers have topped $1 million. Besides being a crime, the agency said unruly behavior is a safety issue.
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While leveling fines are suitable for accountability and hitting someone in the pocket where it counts, it doesn't seem to be having any effect in slowing down the rise of dangerous behavior at airports and in airplanes. This year alone, one in five flight attendants reports having had altercations with unruly passengers. How unruly do passengers have to get before the prosecuting arm of the federal government steps in to charge passengers for their bad behavior? "Interference with flight crew members is a federal crime that deserves the attention of law enforcement," a Justice Department spokesperson said in an email to Skift. A security expert who requested ano