Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, flight crews across the nation have seen a higher volume of unruly behavior among passengers aboard flights.
A new report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirms that airlines have reported 3,000 cases of disruptive passengers in 2021. Of those cases, 2,300 of them involved travelers who refused to wear a face mask, according to Good Morning America.
Since keeping records in 1995, the FAA has recently investigated the most reported federal violations. This year alone, 394 cases were passengers that reportedly got in trouble with the law by “interfering with the duties of a crew member.”
“In a typical year the agency will end up taking this type of enforcement action in about 100 to 160 enforcement cases so it’s nothing new,” FAA Chief Steve Dickson said in an interview last month. “What really is new is the volume that we’re seeing right now.”
A Delta flight heading to Nashville was recently diverted to New Mexico after a man allegedly tried to rush and break into the cockpit.
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A passenger on the Delta flight allegedly tried to break into the cockpit, and crew members wrestled him to the ground and zip-tied his hands behind him.
Another incident consisted of an argument about mask usage and social distancing between passengers on a Ryanair flight from Ibiza, Spain to Milan, Italy became violent, with a woman pulling the hair of another passenger seated in the row in front of her.
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In a later clip, she can be seen detained in another part of the airplane, continuing to argue and kicking at another passenger.
The woman, who appears to be wearing a bathing suit under cut-off jean shorts and a cropped denim jacket, also spit across seats at people on board.
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