Surprise, surprise – reports of unruly passengers onboard U.S. commercial flights have plummeted since the mask mandate was voided last month. The news provides welcome relief for airlines and flight attendants in particular, but also a new line of attack for Sara Nelson, a powerful flight attendant union boss.
With Mask Mandate Vacated, Unruly Passenger Complaints Plummet
Complaints over unruly passengers have dropped to their lowest level since 2020, a period before the federal mask mandate was introduced. The latest figures from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration show there were only 1.9 incidents per 10,000 flights for the week ending April 24, 2022. That represents a huge drop from the 4.4 incidents per 10,000 flights for the prior week.
What could be the cause? Well, it’s either that masks are no longer required onboard or that American Airlines has started serving liquor again in economy class. I’d wager that the lack of mandatory masking helps to explain why passengers have mellowed out.
(Remember, whether masks should be required is a different mater than whether you should wear a mask.)
Whatever the cause, it represents goods news for airlines, passengers, and especially flight attendants. But Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants, has told The Washington Post she now wants the FAA to focus on alcohol-related problems and still wants a new national do-not-fly list:
“The frequency of disruptive and violent passengers is still way higher than pre-pandemic, and there’s still a lot of work to do to stop or mitigate these incidents on planes.”
Dear Sara, give it some time.
CONCLUSION
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) recently asked Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at a hearing last week if he would wear a mask on his next flight. Buttigieg responded:
“I’m not sure. It’ll depend on conditions that day. I don’t have a flight today, but next time I do, I’ll think it over.”
My answer leans more likely no, but I just got over a cold…as uncomfortable as I find a properly-fitted medical mask, I will note that it was nice to avoid common colds during the pandemic. We must continue to be vigilant when it comes to hygiene and respect the decision of others whether to wear a mask…or not.
In my experience flying during the mask mandate and after it was over is night and day. Flying with masks was very difficult. Not because of the masks but the experience was not good. It felt everyone was stressed and very sensitive so anything out of ordinary could trigger a reaction. Now the atmosphere inside the plane is way more positive with people smiling, cheering and having conversations. That reduces stress and aggressiveness. I am not surprised unruly behavior has plummeted.
What? This seems to be a little bit more of a personal interpretation than the reality of people flying with or without masks.
Hummm!!! Did you read my post? I started by saying “in my experience” which is my interpretation of what I have seen. The reality is that after flying over 10 times since the mask mandate is gone I haven’t seen more than 10% of the plane wearing a mask. Also, same goes to TSA employees at airports and FAs on board. Theater is over!!!
Funny, I went to the theater last week, and masks were still required. Perhaps you should learn the difference.
Good for you. If you need some masks I can send you the ones I won’t use anymore.
Snowflakes say stuff like that. Do tell the next surgeon you meet to not wear a mask
A surgeon does not wear a cloth mask from Etsy with a team logo on it. BTW, the patient does not wear a mask. Or do you keep your mask on when you go to the dentist?
As I observed the maskless yokels on my flights over the last 3 days I realized that not doing what they do is probably a safe bet
No surgeons wear surgical masks. Which you also have an issue with as per your earlier rants. Try harder dear snowflake. Don’t melt down.
Masks did not create the issues on planes. People who were politically or socially driven to hate masks created issues on planes. Simple. So, of course the incidents are less. Petulant children when given what they want will calm down. For now. Until their next tantrum.
What a huge BS comment Stuart. I have friends from left and right and they all hated the mask mandate. If anyone knows a bit of science they know this mandate was stupid. As I said above, tell all passengers to wear N95 approved masks all the time and the issue would be solved. Now, when you allow bandanas, Etsy made masks with team logos and then say people can take masks out to eat and drink anyone with a brain knew that was a joke. Virus does not take a time out while people are eating and drinking and laughs at cloth masks.
Honestly, as a professor in pathology at a top 10 medical school, this is what I’ve been saying this entire time. The only masks that work against viruses are N95/KF94 masks, but even then, about 10% of viruses can still go through those masks. My articles has been blocked from being published in the most prestigious journals despite having been peer-reviewed by my colleagues at the University of Chicago, Harvard, Penn, and other places because my research did not fit the narrative. Agreeing with the comment above, viruses aren’t sentient, meaning that they don’t go out of their way to avoid you if you’re eating at a restaurant.
Santastico, I am not arguing the nuances of masks working, not working, or whatever. You can all go on about it. Regardless, the world was trying (and still is) to figure out this pandemic and the best steps forward. There is no black and white. My point is simple: Had there not been this culture war regarding masks that was facilitated by people who cared less about mask wearing and more about making them into a statement regarding freedom, the issues on flights the past two years would have been minimal. So, again, it wasn’t masks creating violence on planes. It was people who were being childish about wearing them, whether they worked or not.
A perfect example is Australia. When I was there a couple of weeks ago I was very shocked to find that everyone I spoke with at meetings, etc, hundreds of different people throughout the country, all supported and felt the closing of the country over the past two years was the right thing to do and a patriotic effort to save the lives of fellow citizens. I found this so fascinating and contrary to what I imagined given all we have witnessed with the divide in this country. I was expecting them to be going on about what an over step it was and how angry they all are. No, the complete opposite.
Everyone went into this pandemic blind, trying to figure out ways to save lives, perhaps even our own. No one was trying to control a society, (well, maybe China) but rather wanting to rally its citizens to say that we are in this together and together we need to figure it out along the way. It pains me to this day to think of the lives that could have been saved in this country had we been a bit more united in our approach. If we just agreed to say, “Well, masks may or may not work, but, hey, they are not a big deal in the scheme of things so let’s do the simple thing of wearing them until we know more.” The mask skepticism led to vaccine skepticism which led to scattered rules and responses around the country which resulted in tens of thousands (perhaps more) unnecessarily meeting their demise.
In hindsight, I am starting to believe that Australia did it right. They kept the country locked up until vaccination rates were at a level that they could feel comfortable in “letting er rip.” They were not trying to have a zero covid strategy as much as they were trying to save lives before vaccines and treatments were available. And they succeeded. Yes, Covid is off the charts there now but no one cares. They are living with it as they stayed united at the time when they needed to protect the vulnerable. Think of the lives it saved there. Think of the lives it cost here in our contentious and violent infighting as to what steps to take throughout.
The babies got their bottles. Simple as that
Matthew, perhaps with better fitting mask, it would be more comfortable. The blue medical masks are not known for comfort. Good quality KN-95 masks, shaped, fitted and properly sized can be a lot less annoying than one thinks. With a good mask you lips never touch the membrane material and you are chafe free.
I flew with masks even before the pandemic in 2017. The majority of my travels were long haul. Domestically within the US I flew very little. As a passenger, the masks mandate made very little change to me. Back then wearing a mask was taboo in Europe and North America, but accepted practice in many parts of east Asia.
After getting sick in multiple flights, I started masking up and what do you know, I stopped getting sick. It stopped touching my face with the mask on and that made a huge difference in transferring germs from surfaces to my face.
Sitting next to the sick guy from DXB to LAX for 16.5 hrs… He was so sick he slept the entire way. Getting sick on SFO to MUC, then having to run meetings in Germany with a fever was not fun. Getting sick on DFW to GRU and then having to work. The congested man next to me from SFO to HAN claimed it was just allergies… Coughed the entire flight. I have plenty of stories but I started masking in 2017 and haven’t gotten sick since after a flight.
A secondary benefit is that the mask helps keep my airways hydrated better with less moisture loss to the surroundings atmosphere. I definitely feel a lot better and it lets me hit the ground running ready to enjoy when I land.
Happy flying.
“I’m just getting over a cold” next sentance … “it was nice being able to avoid a cold” and you call yourself a writer
You call yourself a reader? I don’t wear a mask … one thing I appreciated about masks when I wore them was that I didn’t get colds as often.
Yeah but now alcohol is now starting to be more available. We’ll see.
Almost all of the masks people were wearing did nothing to protect them from COVID, which sure made those of us who were not innumerate rather irritated with them. Good psychological security mechanism for others, though.
Cheers!