FAA, FBI Continue Partnering On Unruly Passenger Cases

The FAA says that it referred at least 17 cases involving allegedly unruly airline passengers to the FBI for criminal prosecution review during the first quarter of 2023. The referrals continue a partnership between the agencies that was stepped up in 2021 in response to a dramatic increase in reports of violently unruly passengers that year. Unruly passenger cases investigated by the FBI in typically involve crimes such as assault, interference with flight crew members, sexual misconduct and theft.

“The rate of unruly passenger incidents has dropped by over 80 percent since record-highs in early 2021 but unacceptable behavior continues to occur,” the agency said. “The FAA pursues legal enforcement action against any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates, or interferes with airline crewmembers, and can propose civil penalties up to $37,000 per violation.”

The number of unruly passenger reports received by the FAA jumped from 1,009 in 2020 to 5,973 in 2021. In 2022, the agency received 2,455 reports that resulted in 831 investigations, initiation of 567 enforcement actions and $8.4 million in fines. The FAA noted that it has referred more than 250 unruly passenger cases to the FBI since late 2021.