The FAA wants to fine a passenger $81,950 for “repeatedly hitting a flight attendant on the head” and after being restrained in flex cuffs, spitting at, headbutting, biting, and trying to kick crew members and other passengers.
It wants to fine another passenger $77,000 for trying to “hug and kiss the passenger seated next to her,” trying to exit the aircraft during flight, refusing to return to her seat, and biting another passenger “multiple times.”
The FAA didn’t identify either passenger.
Airlines ban unruly passengers from flying with them again. Democrats in Congress are pushing legislation to create a no-fly list for such passengers that would keep them off all the airlines, not just the one they were booted from. The FAA doesn’t have authority to prosecute them; it has to refer criminal complaints to the Department of Justice, which can decline to prosecute. There are 80 such cases pending.
Faced with flying bans, fines, and possible prison sentences, you wonder why they do it. I’ll bet a lot of them, if not all of them, are drunk. I think two years of pandemic stresses also have worn on people to the point where some easily lose their self-control. CNN says, “Many of the outbursts … involve the requirement to wear a face mask while traveling” (see story here). You can find videos of airplane cabin incidents involving anti-maskers on YouTube.
A commercial airliner is an aluminum tube with 200 to 300 people crammed inside. It’s like a bus with wings, only worse, because the seats are smaller and closer together, the cabin is packed to the rafters, they’re stuck there for several hours, and they can’t get off (although some apparently try). Airport environments are such that they may be short-tempered even before they board the plane. And not a few have been drinking.
Let’s face it, airline flying sucks. It was bad before the passengers went nuts, and now it’s worse.
This guy solves the problem by owning and flying his own jet. (Actually, it’s owned by a medical equipment company, and he owns the company, and uses the plane for business.) He’s an ex-Air Force F-16 driver with plenty of piloting experience. (He has a whole series of videos posted on YouTube, if you’re interested in doing virtual flying.)
That solution, elegant as it is, is out of reach for most of us. Unfortunately. About all I can recommend is don’t fly, if you don’t have to. Or if you do, don’t be part of the problem. In which case, if you are, you won’t fly anymore and may get free room and board.