Why air rage is on the rise

Between January 1 and September 20, 2022, the US Federal Aviation Administration received 1973 incident reports involving unruly passengers. That figure is about 10 times the number reported in pre-pandemic years. The current year has seen uncontrollable passengers lashed to their seat with duct tape, fights that left aircrew with broken noses, hysterical passengers filmed trying to wrench open emergency exit doors and aircraft diverted and forced to offload misbehaving passengers into police custody.

Australia is a long way short of those numbers but here too, air rage is on the rise. This year rowdy passengers have assaulted cabin crew and other passengers and a traveller who showed up late and missed their Rex Airlines flight speared a metal rope barrier pole at the check-in desk. In response to the rise in violent incidents, Australia's airlines have toughened their zero-tolerance policies, with fines of up to $11,100 for anyone who abuses or assaults fellow passengers or aircrew or otherwise disrupts a flight.

The main reason for the rise in bad behaviour is frustration. Tension is building, with airlines that lose bags, delay or cancel flights, marshal flyers into long, shuffling queues and jam them together for hours at a time in packed cabins.

At a time when flights are more expensive than ever, they're more crowded. In June 2022 the load factor across the board on Australia's domestic airlines was 80 per cent, up from 63 per cent for the previous June.

Loadings on international flights into and out of Australia are running at close to 100 per cent and it's aboard these long-haul flights where squishy economy-class seating is most likely to cause an eruption, especially when alcohol is part of the cocktail.

The trigger can be something as petty as a dispute over the arm rest. Words are spoken, followed by an argument, resentment builds and before you know it fists are flying. Often it's flight attendants who are in the firing line, and becoming punching bags for disgruntled and violent flyers. Along with evacuations, medical emergencies and security threats, defusing enraged passengers is now part of their basic training.