A string of recent airline incidents raises an uncomfortable question: why do so many travelers now feel comfortable behaving outrageously in airports and on airplanes? The latest example involves a JetBlue passenger who bit a flight attendant and still avoided jail time.
Air Rage Keeps Getting Worse Because We Rarely Punish It
Two recent cases illustrate a troubling trend in modern air travel: outrageous behavior paired with surprisingly light consequences.
Earlier this year, a passenger aboard an American Airlines regional flight grabbed a flight attendant, threw him to the ground, and attempted to drag him down the aisle during a midair outburst. The attack forced the aircraft to return to the airport and could easily have escalated into a far more dangerous situation.
Yet despite the seriousness of the assault, the passenger ultimately avoided jail time. Instead, a federal judge sentenced him to probation and imposed a fine of just $500. Federal law allows penalties of up to 20 years in prison for interfering with a flight crew member, but in this case the punishment was dramatically lighter.
> Read More: A Violent Midair Assault On American Airlines And A $500 Fine: Is This Really Justice?
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a heavily intoxicated passenger bit a flight attendant multiple times and assaulted other passengers on a JetBlue flight from New York to Detroit. Despite the violent nature of the attack, that passenger also avoided jail after pleading guilty to interfering with flight crew, instead receiving probation and community service.
Think about that for a moment: biting or violently assaulting a flight attendant, one of the most serious forms of interference with crew, can technically carry a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years. Yet in both of these cases, the perpetrators walked away without serving time.
When Consequences Disappear, Bad Behavior Multiplies
Air travel has always produced the occasional meltdown. But in recent years, the frequency and severity of these incidents has exploded, even if it has retreated somewhat from its pandemic peak.
Passengers scream at gate agents. They punch fellow travelers. They spit, bite, and threaten flight attendants. Some even attempt to open aircraft doors mid-flight.
Airports and airplanes are among the most closely-monitored environments in society. Cameras are everywhere. Law enforcement is often steps away. And yet people still behave like this.
Why?
May I suggest that the consequences are often minimal?
If the worst outcome for attacking airline staff or fellow passengers is a brief arrest, probation, a small fine, or a bit of community service, many people simply don’t take the rules seriously.
Interfering with flight attendants is a direct safety threat. When those offenses result in minimal penalties, it sends a message: the system isn’t serious about protecting airline crews or passengers.
A More Serious Approach
If society wants to reduce air rage incidents, the solution is straightforward: better accountability.
That could include:
- Mandatory jail time for assaulting airline employees
- Lifetime airline bans for violent passengers
- Mandatory public-service labor penalties tied to transportation infrastructure or airport operations
- Strict alcohol-related restrictions for offenders
Air travel relies on a simple social contract: thousands of strangers cooperate in a confined space at 35,000 feet. When that contract breaks down and when the people who break it face little real punishment it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the behavior keeps getting worse.
I’ll not distract from this issue by advocating for Singapore-style caning, but the current system strikes me as disgustingly tolerant of bad behavior.
CONCLUSION
Recent cases of passengers violently attacking airline crew and avoiding jail time are not isolated events. They’re symptoms of a broader cultural shift in how people behave in public spaces.
Until the consequences become serious enough to deter that behavior, don’t expect the chaos to stop…
image: JetBlue
Agreed, 100%. What you permit, you promote.
Was the logic that animal bites cannot result in prison? Hahahaaa
In California, a woman doctor lost her medical license for shoplifting. A male doctor lost his medical license for stealing a hospital computer and sleeping in a lounge in a hospital that he had no affiliation with.
Was it Sara Nelson that wanted Tasers considered for use on airlines? Might have been one of her better ideas.
People in general seem more crass and violent.
Peace in the minds, peace on the planes, please!
Bite a flight attendant: $500
Peacefully protest your government: Death
Caning is a great start!
It’s just like you let Tim Dunn avoid jail time here when he was already locked up elsewhere.
I looked up the cases and let’s just say… juries sometimes will find a “reason” to find “not guilty”. URL’s aren’t allowed (or discouraged) here, but I have cites that show it’s possible that if the prosecutor fully tried these defendants, there’s a chance they’d walk.
So the lawyer pled a deal and they got one. Those experienced with the legal system (I’ve sat on 4 juries) are aware of this.
“Mandatory jail time for assaulting airline employees”
It’s a sign of a decaying society when judicial discretion is undermined because of additional bias in the system. We distrust the system so we put up guardrails that make the system harsher. This also tends to cause unexpected effects such as excessive penalties for relatively minor offenses.
Nom nom nom nom