FAA refers 43 more unruly passenger cases to FBI for investigation

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Wednesday it referred 43 cases of unruly passenger behavior to the FBI this past year for potential criminal charges.

The FAA has now referred 310 of the most serious cases of bad in-flight behavior to the FBI for review since late 2021, when the government agencies joined together to ensure unruly passengers would face prosecution when warranted, rather than simply receive warnings from the FAA.

Some of the new incidents referred to the FBI for criminal case review include sexual assaults of fellow passengers and of crewmembers, efforts to breach the flight deck and exhibitions of threatening behavior.

“There’s absolutely no excuse for unruly behavior,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a press release. “It threatens the safety of everyone on board and we have zero tolerance for it.”

“Dangerous passengers put everyone at risk — and the Biden-Harris Administration has been clear that those who disrupt flights will be held accountable,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, noting that, in addition to making criminal referrals, the FAA can impose “stiff fines” of up to $37,000 per violation.

The partnership between the two agencies formed after the FAA instituted its “zero-tolerance” policy in early 2021 following a surge in unruly incidents when passengers returned to flying during the pandemic.

In 2021, unruly passenger incidents surged to 5,973 reports, a 492-percent increase over the 1,009 reports in 2020, when many people avoided flying altogether. In 2019, there were 1,161 reports of unruly incidents.

Since the 2021 peak, unruly incident reports have declined, but they remain higher today than they were before the pandemic.

In 2022, there were 2,455 reports of unruly behavior, down 59 percent from the 2021 peak. In 2023, the total number declined slightly by 15 percent, recording 2,076 total reports.

As of August 18, the FAA has recorded 1,375 reports of unruly passenger behavior in 2024.