Congressional Research Service IF11949.1 (Addressing Unruly Airline Passengers)

Summary

Congressional Research Service product IF11949.1, Addressing Unruly Airline Passengers, dated October 19, 2021. It reports that unruly passenger incidents have increased substantially as passengers returned to flying after the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) drop in ridership, with objections to mask requirements and excessive alcohol consumption cited as key contributors. The product states that in the first nine months of 2021 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) received more than 4,000 reports of unruly behavior onboard aircraft, over 3,000 of them described as mask-related. It notes TSA-imposed fines of $500 to $1,000 for first offenses under the mask mandate and a 2019 GAO survey of 104 airline customer service agents. The 117th Congress has not passed related legislation.

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October 19, 2021
Addressing Unruly Airline Passengers
As airline passengers have returned to flying in increasing remains in effect. The mandate requires masks to be worn,
numbers following the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID- in compliance with Centers for Disease Control and
19)-related drop in ridership during 2020, the number of Prevention guidelines, in airport terminals as well as
reported unruly passenger incidents has increased onboard commercial aircraft. TSA is charged with
substantially. Objections to mask requirements and enforcing these rules, and passengers refusing to comply
excessive alcohol consumption have been cited as key may face TSA-imposed fines of $500 to $1,000 for first
contributors to the rise in incidents. An uptick in high- offenses and up to $3,000 for repeat offenses. It is unclear if
profile schedule disruptions as airlines adjust to meet any incidents involving TSA agents are tied to the mask
growing air travel demand is another possible factor. The mandate, but it does appear that some altercations at
117th Congress has raised concerns regarding unruly airports have involved confrontations about masking.
passenger conduct at oversight hearings and through Threats to and assaults on airline customer service agents
Member correspondence with executive branch agencies; it are not new, and it is difficult to ascertain whether the
has not passed related legislation. number of such incidents has been rising. A 2019
Government Accountability Office (GAO) survey of 104
Incidents Onboard Aircraft airline customer service agents found that almost all had
In the first nine months of 2021, the Federal Aviation experienced verbal harassment, about 44% had been
Administration (FAA) received more than 4,000 reports of threatened verbally, about 21% had experienced an
unruly behavior onboard aircraft, over 3,000 of which have attempted physical assault, and about 10% reported being
been described as mask-related incidents. FAA has initiated physically assaulted on the job over the course of the year
more than 800 investigations of unruly passenger conduct prior to the survey.
in the first nine months of 2021, more than a five-fold
annualized increase compared to recent years in which Government and Industry Response
annual totals were below 200 (see Figure 1). In the first nine months of 2021, FAA issued more than $1
million in airline passenger fines, averaging more than
Figure 1. Investigations of Unruly Passenger Conduct $15,000 each. While individual airlines keep lists to bar
passengers from future flights for egregious violations of
their contract-of-carriage terms, including unruly behavior,
this information is not available publicly and is not shared
with other airlines. The airline industry has indicated that
there may be both operational and legal barriers to sharing
these lists among airlines. The federal government
generally does not bar individuals from flying unless they
pose a clear terrorist threat to aviation, in which case they
may be placed on the “no fly” list maintained by the
Terrorist Screening Center and checked by TSA.
Source: Federal Aviation Administration.
Note: Annual data, except 2021 data through September. Applicable Statutes and Regulations
FAA regulations prohibit interference with flight and cabin
A July 2021 labor union survey of almost 5,000 flight crew members. Specifically, 14 C.F.R. §§91.11, 121.580,
attendants found that 85% experienced unruly passenger and 135.120 state that “no person may assault, threaten,
behavior during the first half of 2021, including verbal intimidate, or interfere with a crewmember in the
abuse; racist, sexist, and homophobic slurs; threats; and performance of the crewmember’s duties aboard an aircraft
physical violence. More than half experienced five or more being operated.” 49 U.S.C. §46318 gives FAA express
such incidents, and 17% of respondents reported being authority to fine individuals who assault or threaten crew
involved in physical altercations. Law enforcement was members or any other individual onboard an aircraft or who
reportedly informed of about one-third of verbal incidents take any action that poses an imminent threat to the aircraft
and about 60% of physical altercations. or people onboard. Language in the FAA Reauthorization
Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-254) increased the maximum civil
Incidents at Airports penalty for such violations from $25,000 to $35,000. This
Unruly behavior by airline passengers has not been limited penalty is adjusted annually for inflation, and effective May
to airplanes. The Transportation Security Administration 3, 2021, was set at $36,948 per violation. FAA notes that
(TSA) has documented more than 60 cases of passengers one incident could result in multiple violations. P.L. 115-
assaulting screeners since the pandemic began in March 254 also expanded the scope of the statute to include sexual
2020. In January 2021, President Biden imposed a federal assault in addition to physical assault.
mask mandate for domestic and international travel that
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Addressing Unruly Airline Passengers

Furthermore, 49 U.S.C. §46504 authorizes criminal Figure 2. Digital Signage from FAA’s 2021
penalties, including fines and imprisonment up to 20 years, Public Education Campaign
for assaulting or intimidating pilots or flight attendants and
thereby interfering with the performance of their official
duties. Stiffer penalties are available when the prohibited
conduct involves use of a dangerous weapon. It is up to the
Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute disruptive or
violent passengers. While FAA’s enforcement actions have
increased over the past year, few of these cases have
historically led to criminal prosecutions. The criminal
statute generally applies to all persons aboard all aircraft in
flight in U.S. airspace, U.S.-flag aircraft and certain other
aircraft with business ties to the United States in flight
anywhere in the world, and in flight foreign-registered
aircraft directly inbound to or departing from the United
States. Aircraft are generally considered to be in flight from
the moment all external doors are closed following Source: Federal Aviation Administration.
boarding until the moment when one such door is opened to
Additionally, 49 U.S.C. §44918 mandates that air carriers
disembark passengers (see 49 U.S.C. §46501). provide a training program for flight and cabin crew
Regarding incidents at commercial airports in the United primarily aimed at protecting and defending against
States, 49 U.S.C. §46503 establishes criminal penalties, terrorist threats. This training must cover recognition of
including fines and imprisonment up to 10 years, for suspicious activities, crew communication and
assaults against federal, airport, or air carrier employees coordination, self-defense, and situational training exercises
with security duties, when the assault interferes with these regarding various threat conditions. The statute also
duties. As with Section 46504, additional penalties are requires TSA to offer, free of charge, voluntary advanced
available for prohibited conduct involving a dangerous self-defense training to airline flight and cabin crew
weapon. Depending on circumstances, Section 46503 may members that includes training in techniques to deter a
encompass incidents directed at airline and airport passenger who might present a threat; self-defense; and
employees, including airline customer service agents, methods to subdue an attacker. This training was paused
airport security contractors, and airport law enforcement due to the pandemic, but resumed in summer 2021.
officers, as well as TSA screeners. In 2018, it was revealed
that TSA maintains a list of passengers who have assaulted Congressional Interest
screeners or who have otherwise attempted to circumvent Some Members of Congress have expressed interest in
security screening. The list, referred to as the “95 list,” has additional legislative measures to hold disruptive
been described by TSA as a situational awareness tool. passengers more accountable for their actions and to better
According to TSA, being placed on this list does not impact equip airline employees with tools and training to handle
whether a passenger will undergo enhanced screening or be unruly passengers. H.R. 5357 would mandate a GAO study
denied boarding. TSA relies on separate lists to identify of airline procedures, policies, and training for handling
individuals with suspected ties to terrorism who are to be unruly passengers, including methods to physically restrain
automatically selected for enhanced security screening and them, and would order FAA to develop best practices to
a smaller “no fly” list of individuals who are to be denied mitigate the impacts of unruly passenger incidents based on
boarding based on terrorism threat assessments. the GAO findings.
At a September 23, 2021, House Aviation Subcommittee
Informing and Educating Flyers
hearing, some Members urged action to curb or ban “to go”
In response to growing concerns over unruly passengers,
alcohol sales at airports, which, they argue, enable
FAA launched the “Zero Tolerance for Unruly and passengers to sneak alcoholic beverages onboard aircraft in
Dangerous Behavior Toolkit” in 2021, which includes
violation of FAA regulations and contribute to alcohol-
airport signage, Internet-based messaging, and public
fueled air rage. Additionally, some Members of Congress
service announcements aimed at increasing awareness have urged DOJ to step up criminal prosecutions, arguing
about enforcement actions to deter unruly behavior (see
that civil penalties alone appear to be failing to deter unruly
Figure 2).
behavior. A more sweeping proposal involves creating a
federal government list to ban individuals involved in air
Airline Training
rage incidents from airline flights for a period of time. As
49 U.S.C §44734 requires airline flight attendant training to
most of these cases have resulted in civil rather than
include specific training on serving alcohol to passengers, criminal penalties and many may be pending adjudication, a
recognizing intoxicated passengers, dealing with disruptive
federally imposed restriction on flying might face legal
passengers, and recognizing and responding to potential
challenges.
human trafficking victims. It also requires situational
training “on the proper method for dealing with intoxicated Bart Elias, Specialist in Aviation Policy
passengers who act in a belligerent manner.”
IF11949

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Addressing Unruly Airline Passengers

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