The High Cost of Misbehaving

The Association of Flight Attendants says more than 85% of its members had encountered bad behavior in 2021.

It's getting worse in the air by the week. We hear of passengers refusing to wear Federally-mandated masks, punching flight attendants and attempting to open cockpit doors mid-flight. These are the ever-more frequent headlines grabbing our attention on an almost daily basis. It’s been a disturbing and sometimes frightening year for the nation’s flight attendants who have had to cope with verbal and physical abuse by violent passengers while trying to do their jobs. But, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has had enough when it comes to unruly and disruptive passengers. Early last year, the agency publicly announced that persons who refused to wear masks, threaten or otherwise intimidate crew members would face fines and possible jail time for what’s considered criminal behavior. (While the FAA cannot prosecute criminal cases, they refer these to Federal prosecutors.) As of December 31 of last year, there were 5,981 reports of unruly behavior, including 4,156 mask-related incidents and 1,054 investigations. As of February 28, 2022, there‘s already been 712 reports of unruly passengers, 474 of which related to face masks. Investigations have been initiated in 170 incidents and 92 enforcement actions have begun, according to the agency’s Web site. In 2021, passengers were fined more than $1.45 million for egregious actions aboard commercial US aircraft. Here's a brief look at some of the most outrageous incidents.

United Airlines

CommutAir is a regional airline operating domestic flights on behalf of United Airlines as a United Express partner.

An unruly passenger aboard a United Airlines flight to Florida assaulted a flight attendant and then managed to partially open the main cabin door before other passengers, including an off-duty US Marshal, subdued him in a terrifying incident that could see the suspect sent to prison for 20 years. The pilots of the Embraer E145 regional jet operated by CommutAir on behalf of United Express immediately declared an emergency after receiving an automatic warning that the cabin had been breached and managed to land the plane without incident. In a recently unsealed plea agreement, Kameron C. Stone, 29, of Fairfax, Virginia pleaded guilty to two counts of interfering with a flight crew and assault following the April 16, 2021 incident. Stone also faces a maximum $250,000 fine for interfering with the flight crew and a maximum sentence of one year in prison for assault. Prosecutors have declined to recommend a lesser sentence as part of the plea agreement.

On final descent with a decrease in pressure, Stone was able to breach the main cabin door, triggering an alarm.

Witnesses say Stone became “loud and obnoxious” during the two and half hour flight from Dulles to Pensacola and that he smelled strongly of alcohol. Stone verbally harassed and made ‘finger guns’ at other passengers which led to a flight attendant being forced to frequently reprimand him. At one point, Stone got up from his seat and reached for the cockpit door, saying: “I’m trying to get out of here.” The flight attendant blocked the door and ordered Stone to take his seat. During the final descent into Pensacola, Stone once again stood up and approached the cockpit. The flight attendant tried to block him but he ran into her, pushed and grabbed her and hit her head against the side of the galley. He then managed to partially open the main cabin door activating an alarm in the cockpit and triggering an emergency landing. The flight attendant desperately held onto Stone’s hand to prevent him from fully opening the door and screamed “close the door!” as she tugged on the handle to secure it. Three passengers leapt from their seats and jumped on Stone and then restrained him until law enforcement boarded the aircraft. Stone admitted to drinking alcohol on the plane, as well as having had several drinks before boarding the flight.

JetBlue Airways

The FAA reports that last year was the worst on record for unruly airplane passenger behavior in the United States.

An Orlando bound JetBlue passenger was penalized a whopping $45,000 for his bad behavior. Shortly after departure from New York on May 24, he was accused of throwing his carry-on luggage at other passengers, lying down in the aisle, refusing to get up, and grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and sticking his head up her skirt. After the crew restrained him with zip-ties, the plane diverted to Richmond, Virginia, where he was removed. Now he has to cough up as much as many people make in a year for his obnoxious and disgusting behavior. In another incident aboard a JetBlue flight, a passenger was later fined $42,000. He refused to wear a mask, made non-consensual contact with another traveler, threatened other passengers with harm, made stabbing gestures, and snorted what appeared to be cocaine from a plastic bag which the cabin crew confiscated. The flight from New York to San Francisco last May was diverted to Minneapolis where the offending passenger was removed from the aircraft by law enforcement officers. On yet another JetBlue flight, this one from Boston to Orlando last year, a woman was hit with a $29,000 fine. According to the FAA, she refused to wear a face mask and was said to have also “shouted obscenities at the flight crew, and purposely bumped into and punched a seated passenger." Law enforcement was waiting for her at the gate on the jet’s arrival in Florida.

Southwest Airlines

Like other domestic caarriers, Southwest has had its share of unruly and violent passengers disrupting its operations.

FAA officials said that they issued a $40,823 fine against an unidentified passenger on a short Southwest Airlines flight from Mineta San Jose International Airport to San Diego last April. The agency alleges the passenger drank their own alcohol during the flight, which is prohibited under Federal law. After a flight attendant told the passenger to stop, officials said the passenger sexually assaulted the flight attendant! As the plane was descending before landing in San Diego, the passenger then went into the airplane lavatory and smoked marijuana. Once on the ground, he was promptly arrested for public intoxication and resisting arrest, although there’s no word on the sexual assault allegation. Earlier in January 2021, another Southwest Airlines flight from Orlando to Kansas City returned to the gate due to an unruly passenger. He assaulted those around him when someone refused to change seats with his travel partner. He then threatened to commit violent crimes and told his companion he’d "need to bail him out of jail.” Along with a $32,500 penalty that the FAA slapped on him, Southwest Airlines also took punitive action by placing him on their no fly list.

American Airlines

Flight attendants for American Airlines have been verbally abused and physically assaulted in increasing numbers.

An American Airlines flight from Miami to Nashville in February of 2021 had a major disruption from a passenger who allegedly interfered with crew members after refusing to comply with the face mask mandate. He ignored the fasten seatbelt sign and pushed a flight attendant into another passenger with his hip. The FAA levied a $19,000 fine on the offending passenger. In an earlier incident, a $24,000 fine was levied against a passenger on a January American Airlines flight from Tampa to Miami. The FAA alleges that the passenger failed to follow crew instruction to wear her face mask during boarding. The passenger and her travel companions were disruptive while the aircraft stayed at the gate due to a minor mechanical issue. Several passengers requested different seat assignments to avoid the unruly group. A flight attendant asked her to wear her face mask but she removed it as the flight attendant walked away. The captain requested to remove her from the aircraft and on her way off the plane, she physically assaulted the flight attendant by shoving her in the chest.

Frontier Airlines

The FAA investigates unruly-passenger incidents that airline crews report to the agency. They're rising weekly.

On January 3, 2021, a Frontier Airlines flight from Atlanta to New York had a major onboard disturbance when a passenger allegedly interfered with the flight attendants’ deplaning procedures in New York. The FAA said the Frontier passenger tried gaining entry to the flight deck by threatening to kill one flight attendant, physically assaulting two, and demanding they open the door. The captain had to call for law enforcement assistance in removing the passenger who was later fined $30,000 for his bizarre behavior. Another Frontier passenger going from Orlando to Providence in March (what is it about Orlando?) earned herself a $25,500 fine for her actions. The complaint states she was “repeatedly kicking the aircraft bulkhead; screaming obscenities at the passenger next to her; locking herself in the lavatory for 30 minutes; yelling obscenities at the flight attendant after they informed her through the lavatory door that the Captain turned the fastened seatbelt sign on, and she must return to her seat; throwing corn nuts at passengers and shoving both her middle fingers in the flight attendant’s face when they instructed her to stop throwing the nuts. The passenger was issued a 'red card’ notice, and in response, she again put both her middle fingers in the flight attendant’s face. Law enforcement removed her from the flight upon arrival.

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) President Sara Nelson has called for the creation of a centralized list of passengers who may not fly for a period of time after being fined or convicted of a serious incident. She said, "We need clear and consistent rules with strict consequences for those who cannot respect our collective efforts to keep everyone safe in the air and on the ground." The AFA represents 50,000 flight attendants at 20 US airlines. Congressional action for such a centralized list would be required.

Until next time...safe travels.