Delta Air Lines faces two flight disruptions due to unruly passenger behavior

Unruly behavior on flights can lead to serious consequences. According to Yahoo News, such actions are violations of federal law and can result in fines up to $37,000 by the FAA or even criminal charges if multiple infractions occur. The TSA also enforces a zero-tolerance policy, potentially revoking TSA PreCheck status for disruptive passengers.

The FAA has recorded an increase in incidents of unruly behavior from 2022 to 2024 compared to previous years. Notably, 2021 saw a significant spike with more than twice the number of incidents than other years, largely attributed to non-compliance with COVID-19 mask mandates as reported by NPR.

FAA spokesperson Ian Gregor noted: "Based on our experience, we can say with confidence that the number of reports we've received during the past several months are significantly higher than the numbers we've seen in the past."

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants at that time, highlighted increased hostility towards flight attendants enforcing mandates: "We've never before seen aggression and violence on our planes like we have in the past five months," she stated.