A comment this week piqued our interest in a subject we haven’t had to deal with personally, at least not yet. BOH friend Pam said, “I really appreciate your putting a spotlight on bad behavior on a plane. I remember many discussions about passenger etiquette, now it’s fighting. How far we’ve fallen. Question; is it acceptable for a passenger to intervene in a situation where another passenger is acting out? I’m asking because that nonsense doesn’t sit well with me and I’d seriously like to help subdue an irate idiot on a flight. It’d totally make my day!
Zero tolerance here.”
This came from a discussion about the article, “Fit-To-Be-Tied: Hawaii Flights Ultimate Air-Rage Summer,” which was spawned by last week’s airdropped threat to a Southwest Hawaii flight. That incident led to an in-flight diversion and was unfortunately just one in a countless string of unruly passenger incidents that have been occurring during this hottest of summers, both in terms of temperature and temperament.
Passengers became enraged on ten recent overcrowded Hawaii flights.
Pointing fingers, some even think unruly passenger behavior is the fault of the airlines. That was the ACLU’s point of view as they related it to airlines not stepping forward to “make flying a less miserable experience.” Really? Passengers want the cheapest airfares, but not the overcrowding and other issues that come with them. The government (Congress) thinks the answer lies in some new iteration of a no-fly list.
The range of recent Hawaii unruly passenger incidents is astounding.
It runs the gamut from a passenger choking out a flight attendant and ending up zip-tied, then jailed, to passengers unhappy about their seats being abusive to flight attendants, and even to one passenger flying from New York to Honolulu who attempted to breach the cockpit. Yikes! IATA said that such incidents were up nearly 50% in 2022 compared with 2021, and this year could be as bad, or heaven forbid, even worse.
Do flight attendants help or not?
The flight attendant union said that they are “aviation’s first responders.” Others among you have noted in comments that flight attendants at times have their own role in further agitating passengers. All we know is that being a flight attendant would no longer be what we’d consider an easy job. Once glamorous (think United Airlines and Pan Am 50 years ago), now it is a tough position to be in. One FA on last week’s Southwest Hawaii diversion even said “Get me the ‘F’ off this plane.”
“Social and political issues” appear on Hawaii flights.
“Social and political issues always show up on our planes,” said Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union, “The pandemic exposed massive inequality and suffering… we forgot how to be together ― in other cases, the stress piled high and spilled out erratically…”
There’s more stress than ever on Hawaii flights. Have you noticed?
There’s clearly more pressure, stress, anxiety, and uncertainty these days when flying. And the planes are packed to capacity. We feel it all every time we get on a flight to or from Hawaii. Given these conditions, it’s not surprising that some people seem to crack at 30,000 feet.
Can you help during a problematic in-flight situation?
Back to Pam’s question. If a situation is truly out of control, there’s likely little or nothing that you can do to help. And should you try, you could put yourself or others in harm’s way.
It’s the flight attendants who are the specialists trained in these situations, and it is best left to them. The head of their union said that passengers should let them know what is happening, but not get involved themselves. “Unless you or someone near you is in imminent danger, please wait for flight attendant instructions. Some well-meaning passengers can unintentionally escalate a situation.” Be a good witness and ready helper. ”
Flight attendants want federal government intervention in unruly flight behavior.
The union wants “Clear consequences [that] are critical to deter bad behavior,” including “swift investigation, prosecution, and enforcement of fines and/or jail time.” They are also calling for a centralized no-fly list managed by the TSA, with consequences such that “worst offenders should also lose the freedom of flight. If passengers act badly on one airline, they shouldn’t be allowed to simply buy a ticket on another airline.”
While we have yet to witness anything too extreme ourselves, we are keenly aware that these types of incidents are on the rise. Have you had to experience this kind of behavior on flights?
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