FAA to passengers: no manners, no fly

499

The number of unruly passenger reports made by airlines this year through Feb. 15, according to The New York Times. The volume of complaints reported to the Federal Aviation Administration puts airlines on pace for 3,959 reports for the year, below last year’s staggering total of 5,981 unruly passenger reports, but many times above pre-pandemic levels. Public anger and incivility sparked by pandemic mitigation measures has toxified workplaces for flight crews across the country. On Feb. 17, a coalition of six transportation workers unions penned a letter to the Justice Department asking the government to step up prosecutions of unruly passengers.

1,099

The number of investigations generated from airline unruly passenger reports last year, up from an average of 131 per year between 2015 and 2020.

$37,000

The maximum fine the Federal Aviation Administration can impose on unruly passengers.

85%

The percentage of flight attendants surveyed by the Association of Flight Attendants who said they had dealt with ­belligerent passengers in 2021, with 17 percent saying they’d been involved in a physical altercation with a passenger.

8,000

The number of employees, including gate agents and flight attendants, Southwest Airlines hopes to hire in 2022 amid airline staffing shortages.