The FAA usually sees 100 – 150 cases of bad inflight behavior filed with them each year. Already this year there have been 2500, 1900 of which have deal with refusal to wear a mask. Most inflight disturbances don’t make it to the FAA.
We’ve seen a real increase in inflight conflicts, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. There are generally five reasons why we’re heading towards a new peak.
- More passengers = more incidents. Air travel is recovering, there are more people in the sky than there have been since before the pandemic. Sheer numbers make it more likely we’ll see more disturbances as passenger volumes stretch towards 1.9 million per day in the U.S.
- Fewer business travelers means a greater percentage of passengers likely to have issues There are fewer experienced passengers on board who are a dead-end against drama, the person sitting next to a first time flyer is more likely than ever to be a first time flyer.
- Distrust of elites and experts. The same broader society issues that manifect themselves in electoral polarization get brought on board the plane. Experts have largely failed us in the pandemic, and their advice has been inconsistent. We were told not to wear masks before being told to wear them. Somehow taking off the mask has become a symbol of standing up for ones’ self against the tyranny of rule by experts who are increasingly seen as flawed.
- Increased vaccination rates. More and more people see themselves as no longer needing to wear a mask, since evidence suggests strongly that recipients of mRNA vaccines are both unlikely to get or spread the virus (and for those who haven’t been vaccinated yet, that’s largely a decision they’re making for themselves and shouldn’t impose costs on others for it). This is doubly the case now that the CDC even says vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks indoors in crowded bars, yet rules for masking during travel remain in place. This also reinforces skepticism about ‘experts’ and whether rules rely on science.
- Politicization of masks in the wrong direction. Masks should have been the conservative alternative to big government lockdowns. Instead they became a political flash point of government ‘control’. People who feel powerless lash out in whatever way they can.
With more leisure travelers than ever, and a greater proportion of first-time travelers, every airline’s passengers are Spirit Airlines passengers now. Throw people together from various backgrounds and with their own life issues inside a metal tube and give them a requirement that isn’t obviously benefiting them at the end of 15 months of frustration and deprivation and we inevitably see conflict.
As people continue to get vaccinated, as virus case loads and hospitalizations continue to fall, more and more people will see less and less reason to mask up in the face of requirements to do so that seem to no longer be backed by the science or at least consistent with other CDC pronouncements. And masks have become an outlet for political protest. So we’re going to see more mask incidents on planes until the requirement is finally lifted.
You left out a couple more big reasons:
1. People are tired, sad, angry and suspicious of others: they haven’t been able to see some friends and family members in over a year, and when they do see co-workers, cashiers, strangers, etc., everybody is wearing a mask which prevents basic human contact such as smiles and chit-chat. The fear of the virus and the mask requirements are making people depressed and suspicious: I’ve literally had people jump off a sidewalk into the bushes to avoid passing too close to me. Of course we’re going to see the tired, sad, angry, suspicious behaviors on a crowded airplane!
2. Flying in coach, which hasn’t been a very pleasant experience for at least 20 years, has gotten even worse with lack of even the most basic beverage & pretzel service.
The ex-President, during his time in office, taught his followers that bad and rude behavior was acceptable. They have learned the lesson well and continue to be just as evil as he was (and still is).
Another contributing factor to at least some of the reported incidents: the combination of the (relatively new) rule against drinking one’s own alcohol on-board with no alcohol sales on board. Some passengers are pre-gaming, some are drinking their own alcohol.
The mask requirement is going to have to be lifted for all transportation-that will put a end twait o most of the incidents. It should be up to the individual whether to wear a mask. DOT can either lift the mask requirement now or wait until people die in a crash. The ball is in their court.
The low class of leisure travelers these days is the main reason
Treat people poorly and they will treat you poorly back. Don’t see a lot of airlines trying to improve on the passenger service or experience so unfortunately don’t see it getting better any time soon.
No, every airline does not have Spirit passengers.
Before the pandemic and during it, there are pretty wide differences in the fare levels which each airline charges.
It isn’t a surprise that airlines that are discounting the most aggressively to fill the most seats are the ones that are having the most passenger service problems.
There is no excuse for this behavior, and I think the hammer should be dropped on these people. But @Jerry is right. The travel experience has gotten worse. Airlines are jamming more people into smaller seats, looking to squeeze every last penny from us. Service is being provided by a lot of people who would rather be doing something else, by corporations that have become activists, promoting things that go against what a large portion of their customer base believes in. Travel is nothing more than a commodity. Add on top of that a mask mandate and the general decline in civil discourse and behavior, and it’s easy to see. Not acceptable, but not unexpected either.
Stimulus check travelers would be my guess, they’ve been coddled/raised on concrete all their lives.
I was about to engage in a drunken brawl whilst flying to my pandemic handout funded vacation, but when Jeff rapped me sharply with his top hat and gave me a disappointed look through his monocle, I was suddenly consumed with guilt and shame, and immediately ceased my raucous tomfoolery.
Not sure why people always bash airlines. They are delivering what people want – cheap flights. If you want better experience, upgrade to premium economy or first class. Those seats are a lot nicer now than 25 years ago and cost much less (even without adjusting for inflation). People need to stop making every decision on what is the cheapest otherwise there will only be Spirits and Wal Marts.
“Experts have largely failed us in the pandemic, and their advice has been inconsistent.”
This is one of those broad generalizations that is fashionable in the libertarian world, but is sort of nonsensical. “Inconsistent advice” is not the same as failure; and in fact is probably the result of evolution. I don’t WANT consistency on things like smoking or climate change; I want people to get smarter. That’s how you BECOME an expert.
Moreover, not ALL experts have failed us, and not ALL experts have been inconsistent. In fact, not even “largely”.
In any case, I don’t think “the experts” have anything to do with people being dickheads on an airplane..
@ repentant prole:
that made me laugh. but in all seriousness, I am squarely middle class, but I travel a lot, and have been flying as an essential worker throughout the Covid pandemic. I have been traveling weekly for the last 15 years. The “average” leisure airline passenger has a different “vibe” these days. Rough around the edges, whatever you want to call it. Lots of families like before but also lots of folks that look like they are in a motorcycle or street gang.
I have one comment. Have you ever seen this kind of behavior on a Canadian plane, once in 12 months? How often does this happen in the EU? This happens on a daily basis in the USA. So before you start blaming the airlines, or the mask rules, or whatever excuse you want to give these people, we as a country have to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask us why this happens so often here.
More amateur travelers, more alcohol abuse, silly mask rules on places where the air is suppose to the cleanest ever, burnt out oxygen deprived flight attendants on power trips, burnt out oxygen deprived passengers that are treated like self loading cattle. Lack of food options at the airport and on the planes…..
@TM – this happens all the time on European holiday airlines, just google “jet2”
I certainly don’t think these incidents are because of Trump or are generally instigated by Trump supporters that learned so called bad behavior from our 45th President….as an earlier poster suggests. Lest we forget Maxine Waters telling her liberal supporters to get in the face of conservatives or others supporting Trump’s agenda in restaurants, in public and yes on planes. The real reasons have roots in politics for sure…you know the mask rules being ridiculously enforced such as taking bites of your sandwich as you lower your mask and then having to immediately put it back on as you chew….or get disciplined by the stark raving mad mask enforcer or get turned in by a nutty passenger…..disgusting!! Yes, this nonsense is on AA’s website! Airlines have worsened the experience of flying by removing services in the name of Covid but really for the purpose of saving cost. The staff is stressed out and then bad behavior makes their life miserable and so they take it out on passengers by being rigid instead of human. I do feel that this vicious cycle will be interrupted only by a combination of airlines recognizing that they are transporting people….people that need to breath, eat and wish to enjoy travel. The longer the airlines are supportive of government mandates the longer this will escalate. However, passengers too need to remember that their fellow travelers are humans too and we all need to learn a bit of respect despite our differences.
I always chuckle when people try to make out Canadians as something special. I was in a bar a long time ago and this knucklehead from Vancouver was making trouble so the owner told him to pay his tab. And he said he wouldn’t. The bartender said pay or deal with the police. So the police came and the idiot asked how much jail would be.
My other story was this four some in Europe that were being obnoxious and entitled. Turned out to be Canadians.
So Canada has their share of idiots like most countries do.
Bring back regulation and raise prices !
There are specific high profile inconsistencies by “experts”, as Gary points out in describing the CDC lifting the indoor mask guideline for vaccinated people, but still requiring masks for transportation. The mask per se isn’t much of an issue to me. If I’m at a place that requires it, I don’t fuss at all – they own the building, the terminal, the aircraft, and it’s my choice whether to enter or not.
Still, the mask is the most visible and regular ongoing symbol of all the loss of the last 15 months, whether in personal life (a friend who died, us not getting to have a family gathering at Christmas), travel (stay at home orders), work (a job I loved turned remote for more than 10 months which I absolutely hated), entertainment and recreation (everything shut down). Now things are improving quite a bit, but in some places masks linger as a constant, visible-every-minute reminder of a horrible experience.
Vaccination has brought us to the point we’re at now, with deaths and hospitalization for COVID at near zero for us, and we really don’t want to put up with ongoing limits on our lives for the sake of those who choose not to protect themselves. Governments will have to decide – end the restrictions totally or find ways to keep them only for unvaccinated people.
Mark….on any given day during the former guys time as President, we all observed norms of decent behavior slaughtered by him. Name calling, bullying, obscene gestures, making fun of the disabled, on and on ad nauseum. Don’t forget the Lying. And this behavior was either admired by his followers or excused. While his behaviors are not the only culprit for the current lack of plain decency, to ignore or excuse his role, is perilous. You diminish your argument by comparing the daily examples of bad behaviors of the former guy with Maxine Waters bad behavior. 1000 to 10
This country has evolved into an arrogant selfish population. Case closed.
These incidents were occurring well before the pandemic. They have been ramping up for many years. Air rage incidents are directly inverse to the price of airfare. The cheaper the airfare, the greater chance of an air rage incident.
It seams like we’ve Rey one has forgotten about the people
That have had COVID
We have immunity for several years and it is the stupid people that think we need a shot!!! Wake up idiots
The shot is not for everyone!!!
@ Gary. “Masks should have been the conservative alternative to big government lockdowns.” Good point. I would have been much more comfortable with that as I’m sure many small business owners would have too . . . maybe even some CA governors that like to dine at The French Laundry.
Wiley dog you are a sad little man or woman. Your words are as ignorant as the name you are using on this blog and are nothing more than adding to the already rampant polarization. 70 million people voted for DT don’t forget that small point, if your feeble mind can grasp a number as big as that.
Cmorgan, I think the fact that there is 70 million people willing to accept rampant dishonesty, pathological narcissism, cronyism and subscribe to conspiracy theories with absolutely no basis in fact as acceptable behavior if it supports their party line might be a clue. Probably helps explain why some segments of our society think getting physical with someone just because they are unhappy is “their right”
The last president made childish name calling and vindictiveness seem normal for some.
Surely that would have something to do with the rise in anti-social behavior in our Country.
Cmorgan also seems to think name calling in some way makes his point better…..sad how many Americans think that.
Used to be action speaks louder then words. Safe to say the Republican party has now become the party of Marjorie Green and has rejected Liz Cheney, who in fact, agree or disagree with her politics (I happen to disagree) was a politician of integrity and honesty.
That’s what has divided our country more then anything, a Republican party that embraces the loudest but least effective members of their own and no longer provides a balanced perspective on national policy.
A lot of those 70 million that voted for Trump were voting for a Republican despite his dishonesty and lack of integrity. But now the Republicans are stuck with a block of votes they can’t afford to lose but it comes with being the party of Marjorie Green who is a national embarrassment.
JW – precisely. I would like to support fiscal conservative/social moderate GOP…..where are they?
Complaining about face masks but compliant with seats being in upright positions during take off / landing and seatbelts. Don’t the seatbelt and upright seat requirements make you sheeple as well? Aren’t the seatbelts the same form of control as masks?
I find it amazingly myopic that unruliness among passengers over the past year is being blamed on the alcohol that wasn’t served.
OMG the QUACK Fruitcake did not think all of the dirt on him would come out and his lies would be exposed, MASKS DON’T WORK!!!! they are useless cloths that get a lot of people upset along with being cramped in the smaller than ever seats.
It is not the alcohol that is causing the problem, it is the flight attendant’s not wanting to do a job they were hired fo. They have become LAZY!!!!
To the comments lambasting Trump, suggesting that the behavior is based on him is ridiculous. Those same comments say nothing about the growing epidemic of black crime in America?
Now they’re saying you might not be able to fly if you got the jab:
https://www.traveldailymedia.com/vaccinated-travellers-wont-be-allowed-to-fly-due-to-blood-clot/amp/
Gonna be an interesting 2nd half of 2021
Masks, like lockdowns and quarantines, have outlived their purpose. FAA should issue a rule deleting the mask requirement, and airlines should stop harrassing people about masks. Will talke a while for everyone to adjust. The hysterical reaction of the arrogant person who is running the Flight Attendants Union is typical of the attitude of many airline people who somehow think they are God. Let’s just calm down and relax and maybe things will (slowly) get back to normal.
“Experts have largely failed us in the pandemic, and their advice has been inconsistent.” This isn’t accurate and it is unhelpful and dangerous.. Experts didn’t fail us – COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus -, yes that means NEW, and so APPROPRIATELY the advice changed as new knowledge was obtained about the virus
What’s so amazing is that I see in the comments section the same anger that is apparently coming out during flights. Many of the responses seem to be angry, vindictive, and evoke some sort of deep resentment at something, whatever that may be – suspect It’s a combination of pandemic fatigue and anger about their perceived disenfranchisement by the political situation. Whatever happened to rational, logical thinking?
What’s wrong with just following the rules. Yes, the rules have changed as more is learned about the virus. But they are still the rules. They aren’t there to make people miserable, but to keep people safe. It’s not that big of a deal to wear a cloth mask where required, yet some people feel they are entitled to not have to follow the rules. If you won’t follow the rules, you’ll find you won’t be allowed to fly any more. Are you willing to risk that because of your stubbornness? C’mon, people.
You think twice about boarding a plane. Brazil is a big country, most flights are about three to six hours to get from one city to another. From Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo, only 50 minutes, but all the seats are occupied, and a few people dont wear masks. Better make it with car, six hours on the road…
I didn’t realize this was a political site….blaming the former president for the rude behavior of stupid people is beyond the pale…Is there anything at all you folks on the left wont try to blame Trump for?
It’s offensive that so many people want to blame experts and the airlines.
People choose airlines for two main reasons, fares and availability of flights. Airline flight attendants are there for one reason your safety. No one in the airline industry is getting rich, especially not flight attendants.
The masks, like most regulatory rules are not a choice of the flight attendants. Why some people want to choose flight attendants to vent their anger is beyond me. Those same people who never listen are the ones likely to die in an accident.
Go fly Trump Air, I think masks are optional.
Many comments about masks, both pro and con. (I won’t even comment on the rude, irrational stuff from both sides.)
Pre-pandemic I traveled frequently for work and saw people wearing a mask, no problem – it was their choice.
There were, and are, some countries that did not lock down with no higher rates of death than those that did, and less than some. They protected the elderly and those with underlying morbidities with success.
Some countries used, and still do, ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to combat Covid-19 with great results (prohibited in the US for this treatment). “Ivermectin, in more than 30 trials around the world, causes ‘repeated, consistent, large magnitude improvements in clinical outcomes at all stages of the disease,’ according to the study, which was published in the U.S. journal Frontiers of Pharmacology.” That’s a recent study. Look it up.
But none of this excuses bad behavior from people who should know better. Like a two year old throwing a temper tantrum.
Masks should be an option. Wear one if it makes you feel better. Or not.
Even the CDC has a report that states that wearing a mask does not decrease your chances of becoming infected with Covid-19, and not wearing a mask does not increase your chances.
Follow the science, not those spouting opinions and preferences.
And, for goodness sake, behave like an adult.
Tim says:
May 27, 2021 at 3:46 am
Bring back regulation and raise prices !
I agree completely.
One significant issue I have noticed is some flight attendants have grown significantly more aggressive with passengers. With their new found “authority” to throw passengers off the plane or have them arrested at the landing location they push passengers more aggressively thereby causing an escalation instead of working harder to de-escalate the situation. I have witnessed several incidents where flight attendants could have easily spoken swiftly and de-escalated but instead almost immediately threatened to have the passenger thrown off or arrested at the destination. I certainly understand the frustration of flight attendants with all the other issues people commented about here but I think we would be remiss not to include flight attendants (often the most common denominator in all these incidents) demonstrating more arrogance instead of respectful professionalism.
John Sousa…. Blaming Trump is beyond the pale???
What I believe you are missing is that after 4 years of a President that calls people names like a little kid. That throws temper tantrums and lies like a four year old, that pretty much made pathological narcissism seem acceptable to a significant percentage of the traveling public.
That promoted violence towards people you disagree with, etc etc …you get the picture. It effects some people and we all can agree that much of the Trump base is easily riled up.
Nothing I said, while may sound somewhat extreme, is untrue….
So no, blaming Trumps awful behavior as a factor does in fact have some merit.
That said, the bigger issue is personal responsibility seems to be a dying trend in America, as is integrity, honesty and democracy.
This damned “entitled” attitude that so many people tend to show these days. Common kindness and respect for others is slowly being eroded in favor of “ME, ME, ME and ONLY ME!” Add alcohol and drug abuse, mental and social interaction issues and it will continue to escalate. Hold on! It’s going to be a bumpy ride!
Anyone reading this thread will from the beginning will see AS ALWAYS, it is the loud mouthed intolerant fools of the left who have to be obnoxious and condemning people in our history. Why can’t you folks ever take blame for anything. Long before Trump, OBama slpit our country apart with racial hatred, THREE TIMES, backing black thugs before he had an ounce of proof or facts. In all three cases he was proven dead wrong, but this did little for the hatred, riots and utter destruction caused by backing the thugs, Trayvon, Michael Brown and Freddie Gray. Yet to this date not ONE LIBERAL admits that took us back to racial divide almost as bad as the 1960’s. Instead, these same utter morons, try to create lies about how Trump is suppose to be the racist. You p[eople are disgusting and out right stupid in your opinions.
I love how some people blame Trump, or as they say “the former guy’s presidency “ for bad behaviors. That is like saying that the 6th grader’s misbehavior is the fault of the head of the school board.
The author hit most of the reasons but missed the #1 problem. People are tired of Being dictated to. Americans have never accepted dictatorship and never will and they are becoming less accepting of being told what they can and can’t do. You can’t go to restaurants, you can’t go to nightclubs, you can’t go to sporting events or even movies. They won’t let you see loved ones in nursing homes, you’re limited in how many people can visit someone in the hospital, they are even trying to limit the number of people at your Fourth of July parties.
People are simply tired of being told what they can and can’t do…period. Unfortunately some of these “children” have poor self control and misbehave. It’s really that simple.