Our opinion: Congress should move on the Protection From Abusive Passengers Act
Reports of air rage during the pandemic made flights rocky for airline personnel and fliers. In 2021, unruly passenger cases soared -- with 72% spurred by mask requirements meant to keep those on board safe from the spread of COVID-19. "When the mask mandate was lifted, everyone thought things would go back to normal," Susan Wroble, a negotiator with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, told transportation columnist Marni Pyke.
From 2010 to 2019, the Federal Aviation Administration investigated an average of 137 unruly passenger reports a year. Then COVID-19 hit. The number rose to 1,099 in 2021 and remained high at 821 in 2022. In March, a 33-year-old man was arrested, with authorities saying he tried to stab a flight attendant with a broken metal spoon and attempted to open the emergency exit door on a flight from Los Angeles to Boston.
Lawmakers need to acknowledge that plane threats and violence could put an entire flight at risk. As Arlington Heights pilot and Allied Pilots Association spokesman Dennis Tajer told Pyke, fights on a plane can lead to distractions in the cockpit.
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