The Federal Aviation Administration has shared that it has now referred a total of 39 unruly passenger cases to the Federal Bureau of Investigations for prosecution.
The number hit 39 this week thanks to the additional 22 cases the FAA brought to the FBI. The nearly two dozen cases spanned from December 2021 to April 2023.
They involved various incidents, including alleged terroristic threats, physical assault of other passengers, erratic behavior, sexual assault, a bomb threat, and other misconduct toward passengers or flight crews.
The number of unruly passengers skyrocketed throughout the pandemic as numerous headlines about fights, passengers taped to their seats, and more popped up.
However, the FAA shared that the frequency of cases have declined by nearly 80% since 2021, when the administration received 5,973 reports of unruly passengers.
On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg shared a statement about the referral, saying he is working to ensure the trend ends.
“Unruly behavior poses serious safety concerns for passengers and crew alike, which is why we are addressing this issue aggressively,” Buttigieg said.
The FAA and FBI have had a long-standing partnership that looks to reduce the number of unruly airline passengers but to also hold those who broke the law accountable when warranted.
Since late 2021, there have been more than 270 cases referred to the FBI from the FAA.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has also spoken about the increase in incidents, which has fallen since March 2021. Garland shared that it is a priority to prosecute those who are unruly on commercial aircraft.
So far this year, there have been 1,117 reports of unruly passengers.
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