Omicron Surge Complicates Challenge of Unruly Airline Passengers

This holiday travel season marks the end of what has been a turbulent year for air travelers and possibly an exacerbation of problems stemming from bad behavior on flights.

There has been a sharp rise in airline passengers breaking rules. A majority of the incidents involve people refusing to comply with the face-mask requirement, among other offenses.

Total fines proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration for bad behavior surpassed $1 million this year. A large share of the people who have incurred penalties have been able to show that they don’t have the financial assets to pay the full amount.

The FAA doesn’t prosecute criminal cases, though it does refer some cases to the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation. It has also asked airports to coordinate more closely with local law enforcement in its response to the rise in incidents.

Over half of the more than $1 million in fines were for cases in which a passenger refused to comply with the mask mandate. Many of the fines for refusing to wear a mask involved a passenger committing other violations.

At least 36 fines, including the 15 largest, involved allegedly violent or threatening behavior.

At least 16 fines involved unauthorized use of alcohol. FAA regulations prohibit drinking alcohol on a plane that was not served by the airline.

Six fines were for violations that included smoking or vaping.

Nearly a third of the fines were for incidents that resulted in a flight being delayed or diverted, based on incident descriptions provided in FAA press releases.

Source: WSJ analysis of FAA data

The cases in which fines were proposed are a fraction of the more than 5,000 reports of passenger violations, including more than 4,000 in which passengers failed to comply with the mandate to wear face masks.

There have been more than 1,000 investigations this year into various offenses and more than 300 enforcement cases. That compares with the fewer than 100 proposed fines.

Airline passenger-behavior reports, investigations and enforcement, 2021

1,030

investigations

initiated

reports

of unruly

passengers

315

enforcement

cases initiated

mask-related

incidents

reported

1,030

investigations

initiated

reports

of unruly

passengers

315

enforcement

cases initiated

mask-related

incidents

reported

1,030

investigations

initiated

reports

of unruly

passengers

315

enforcement

cases initiated

mask-related

incidents

reported

reports

of unruly

passengers

mask-related

incidents

reported

1,030

investigations

initiated

315

enforcement

cases initiated

reports

of unruly

passengers

mask-related

incidents

reported

1,030

investigations

initiated

315

enforcement

cases initiated

The FAA in January 2021 announced an order directing stricter legal enforcement against unruly airline passengers amid a rise in troubling incidents.

Historically, the agency has addressed unruly-passenger incidents using a variety of methods including warnings, counseling and civil penalties. Under the zero-tolerance policy introduced this year, the agency “will pursue legal enforcement action against any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates or interferes with airline crew members.”

As an additional measure to deter and penalize bad behavior, the agency said Tuesday that passengers who act up during flights could be stripped of TSA PreCheck screening eligibility. PreCheck is a program that allows trusted fliers to avoid certain security-screening nuisances and wait in shorter lines.

“If you act out of line, you will wait in line,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson said.

Getting passengers to wear face masks on planes has become more critical with the recent surge of Covid-19 cases and the rise of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

“Omicron is spreading at a rate that we have not seen with any previous variant,” World Health Organization Secretary-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said recently.

Since Omicron was identified in November, travel restrictions have been tightened around the world.

As passengers return to air travel in big numbers, the Federal Aviation Administration has reported an uptick in unruly and dangerous behaviors by travelers. WSJ’s Alison Sider explains. Photo: David Zalubowski/AP

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Omicron has overtaken the Delta variant in the U.S., accounting for an estimated 73% of infections for the week ending Dec. 18.

Despite the surge in cases, U.S. air carriers have said they anticipate a busy holiday travel week, with flights expected to be even busier than they were over Thanksgiving.