The Federal Aviation Administration says unruly passenger incidents remain too high and it is committed to its zero-tolerance approach.
This year, there have been 915 unruly passenger incidents reported as of the end of last week.
This includes over 100 involving excessive alcohol, the FAA said.
While it is down on the 6,000 incidents reported throughout 2021 – mostly sparked by the refusal to wear masks, it is still well up on the pre-pandemic rate of unruly passenger incidents.
The FAA has imposed over $15 million in fines to passengers over the past two years
The number of overall incidents fell 15% last year, but the agency still referred 39 unruly passengers to the FBI for prosecution.
Though prison sentences are rare, one flier was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in March after threatening crew and passengers and was in possession of a box cutter.
The FAA made its zero-tolerance pledge as incidents surged predominantly due to onboard mask wearing requirements.
