Here’s why people are still flipping out on airliners

Incidents involving unruly passengers in the United States are decreasing. But the good news may end there. On average, there were about 500 reports of unruly passengers per month in 2021, according to the US FAA. In the first three months of 2022, this number fell to about 350 reports per month, according to FAA statistics. That’s progress, especially considering that there are far more flights than in early 2021, when incident reports reached an all-time peak. However, it’s still a far cry from the number of in-flight outbursts logged before the pandemic, which from 2014 to 2019 happened about 10 times a month. Why unruliness skyrocketed: In 2021, nearly 3 out of 4 unruly passenger reports were related to mask compliance, according to the FAA, which monitors flights that depart from or arrive in the United States. For some, refusing to wear a mask became both a political statement and a marker of personal autonomy, said Sharona Hoffman, co-director of the Law-Medicine Center at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Many of these people do not want to be told what to do, and flying is “an environment where they are told what to do — all the time — for hours.”<br/>