Snorting cocaine, refusing masks, more: Record fines issued for air travelers in 2021
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued more than $1 million in fines to more than 75 unruly passengers so far this year, an Observer review of federal data found.
The total fines issued in the first eight months of 2021 is a record amount compared to previous totals for any one year, according to the FAA.
Among this year’s count was a $17,000 fine for a woman flying to Charlotte in February. She was removed from the plane in Key West, Florida, after drinking alcohol, refusing to wear a mask and trying to vape on board the aircraft, according to the FAA.
That fine was the first time someone flying through the Charlotte airport was fined in 2021. Just one other person flying into or out of North Carolina has been hit with an FAA fine so far this year.
In that case, a man on an Allegiant Air flight from Greensboro to St. Petersburg, Florida, in February was hit with a $9,000 fine after the FAA says he refused to wear his face mask during boarding and on the flight.
He loudly argued with a flight attendant who told him to wear a mask and “began to unbuckle his seat belt to stand and ‘get into it and get to the bottom of this’ with the flight attendant,” the FAA reported.
The passenger also photographed and recorded other passengers without their permission, according to the FAA. The agency does not publicly identify the passengers in the announcements of fine.
Anger at the federal mask mandate prompted by the coronavirus pandemic has fueled many of the unruly incidents, the Observer review found. Alcohol consumption is another big driver of unruly behavior, according to the FAA.
300% increase in unruly passenger reports
The fines are part of the FAA’s Zero Tolerance campaign against unruly passenger behavior.
The agency has seen a nearly 300% increase in cases of unruly passengers so far this year compared to the number of incidents reported for all of last year.
The skies have been so problematic for flight crews that the TSA recently highlighted its efforts in Charlotte to teach flight attendants self-defense and deescalation techniques.
The FAA has initiated nearly 700 investigations into passenger behavior this year. That’s a huge jump from last year’s tally of 183 and 2019’s total of 146.
And the agency has received 3,988 reports of unruly passengers. Nearly 3,000 of those reports were related to face masks.
Here are some of the biggest fines of the year.
The biggest FAA fine of the year
In May, the FAA announced a $52,500 fine, the biggest fine issued so far this year.
It was issued to a man who flew on a Delta flight from Honolulu to Seattle on Dec. 23.
The man attempted to open the cockpit door and hit a flight attendant in the face then pushed him to the floor, according to the FAA.
The passenger also threatened the flight attendant by charging at him. Members of the flight crew, with the help of a passenger, were able to put plastic handcuffs on the man.
Later, the passenger freed himself from one of the handcuffs and hit the flight attendant in the face again. Police boarded the aircraft when it landed and took the man into custody, according to the FAA.
Emergency landing due to bad behavior
The second biggest fine of the year — a fine of $45,000 — was issued against a man flying on a JetBlue flight from New York City to Orlando, Florida, on May 24.
The man threw his carry-on luggage and other objects at passengers, according to the FAA.
He also refused to stay seated, lay in the aisle, then grabbed a flight attendant by the ankles and put his head up her skirt, the FAA report indicated.
The man was put in flexi-cuffs and the plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Richmond, Virginia, according to the FAA.
Snorting coke and refusing to weak a mask
One man was fined $42,000 after “snorting what appeared to be cocaine from a plastic bag” on a flight from Queens, New York, to San Francisco on May 16, according to the FAA.
The man also refused to wear a face mask, threw a playing card at another passenger and threatened him. He also made stabbing gestures at other passengers, add the FAA said.
The flight diverted to Minneapolis, and law enforcement removed the man from the plane.
Throwing obscenities and punches
One woman was fined $29,000 after punching another passenger in the face on a flight from Boston to Orlando on April 12, according to the FAA.
The woman refused to wear a face mask and shouted obscenities at the flight crew. She then intentionally bumped into another passenger on her way to the bathroom on the plane, according to the FAA.
When that passenger complained, she punched the passenger in the face, the FAA said. Law enforcement met that plane at the gate.
Punching a woman holding a baby
A woman was fined $18,500 on a flight from Indianapolis to Philadelphia on Feb. 19 after she punched a woman in the back of the head who had been holding a baby.
The woman and her travel group refused to wear masks and were playing loud, obscene music, according to the FAA.
The woman also threatened the passenger in front of her when they closed the window shade.
The woman and the group continued playing loud music, swearing at flight crew and refusing to wear masks. The flight returned to the gate for law enforcement.
When the woman stood up to leave the flight, she punched the woman sitting in front of her, who was holding a small baby, according to the FAA.
Another woman traveling with that person was also fined. She was fined $10,000 for refusing to wear a mask, playing loud, obscene music and arguing with flight attendants, other passengers and the captain with obscene language.
This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 6:30 AM.
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