The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued over $20 million in fines to unruly passengers since the pandemic began in 2020. This represents a significant increase from pre-pandemic levels, when fines were less than $400,000 in 2019. The highest annual fine amount was in 2022 at over $8 million, followed by a slight decline to $7.5 million in 2023.

The surge in unruly passenger incidents is primarily attributed to disputes over mask-wearing during the pandemic. To address this, the FAA implemented a “zero-tolerance policy” that remains in effect today. This policy aims to deter unruly behavior, which can pose a threat to the health, safety, and security of passengers and crew, as well as disrupt aircraft operations.

So far in 2024, the FAA has recorded almost 900 unruly passenger incident reports, although this is significantly lower than the peak in 2021. Nonetheless, it remains well above pre-pandemic levels. For the most serious cases, the FAA has referred approximately 300 incidents to the FBI for potential criminal prosecution.

The FAA emphasizes that unruly passengers pose a threat to everyone on board an aircraft and that its zero-tolerance policy is effective in reducing this threat.