The US Federal Aviation Administration has referred 80 badly behaved passengers to the FBI since early 2021.
That is just a tiny fraction of the 6,000 unruly incidents but it has doubled since November 2021.
The number of investigations opened into unruly passengers skyrocketed by more than 650% compared to before the pandemic.
The 80 referrals are deemed serious enough to merit criminal investigations rather than just a FAA civil penalty.
More than 70% of the 6,000 unruly passenger reports were sparked by disagreements over wearing a mask.
US airlines have been pressuring the FAA to push for more criminal prosecution and a national no-fly list to ban passengers from every airline.
