Well, that was a costly mistake.
It seems like every other day there is a report of unpleasant behavior on an airplane somewhere in the world. Air rage incidents light up social media platforms with all sorts of nasty aerial encounters.
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For example, a woman clashed with flight attendants on a Southwest Airlines plane. (LUV) – Get a free report flight after repeatedly shouting that she is a victim of human trafficking while being escorted off the plane, the daily mail reported on November 15.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, nearly 6,000 unruly passenger incidents were reported in 2021, up from about 1,100 in 2019.
The number of cases has declined in recent years but remains above pre-pandemic levels, and FAA data shows there have been 1,820 reports of unruly passengers so far in 2023.
“The rate of unruly passenger incidents has steadily decreased by more than 80% from record highs in early 2021, but recent increases show there is still work to be done,” the FAA said.
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The plane turned around
A recent case involves Cayla Farris, 29, of Hawaii, who, according to the United States Attorney’s Office in Arizonaordered to pay $38,952 to American Airlines (AAL) – Get a free report for interfering with a crew member and forcing their flight to be diverted.
Farris, who pleaded guilty on Sept. 12, also received a served sentence of 3.6 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
During his supervised release, Farris will not be allowed to travel on commercial aircraft without prior approval.
On February 13, 2022, authorities said, Farris boarded an American Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu.
Farris used profanity and threatened the flight crew and passengers on board. As a result of his behavior, the flight crew was unable to continue their duties.
“The captain ultimately decided to return the plane to Phoenix,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “For passengers on board, this disruption caused several flights to be diverted to Hawaii.”
At the beginning of this year, the International Air Transport Association raised concerns about unruly passengers.
While incidents of physical abuse remain very rare, the association said there was an alarming 61% increase from 2021, occurring once every 17,200 flights.
The most common categorizations of incidents in 2022 were non-compliance, verbal abuse, and intoxication.
Expert: Social networks are a factor
Planes have become busier and travel increased dramatically after Covid-related travel bans were lifted.
Sharona Hoffman, a professor of law and bioethics at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told the Dallas Morning News Such unruly passenger behavior existed long before the pandemic began, but the pandemic increased the frequency of incidents.
And these incidents are getting more attention now thanks to social media, said Keith Jeffries, a former top TSA executive and now vice president of K2 Security Screening Group, an aviation security company.
“Passengers can record and we’re seeing it more,” Jeffries said. “It is not strange. I think what stands out is simply the ability of people to take out their camera and start recording it.”
Some analysts also see a class issue related to air rage incidents.
TO study 2016 A study by researchers at the University of Toronto and Harvard Business School found that passengers in economy seats were 3.84 times more likely to experience an air rage incident if they were on a plane that had a first-class section. .
They were 2.18 times more likely to have an outburst if they had to go through first class to board the plane, rather than boarding in the middle of the plane, directly to the economy section, according to the report.
“In recent years, class-based seating has become more frequent and more unequal, with first-class cabins occupying an increasing proportion of total space,” the study concluded. “As inequality and seat classifications on airplanes continue to increase, incidents of air rage may also increase in frequency.”
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