The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reviewing more than 40 cases of unruly passengers on airlines across the country.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) referred 43 cases of people misbehaving on airplanes to the law enforcement agency during the past year.
The referred cases represent a small portion of airplane mayhem: there have been 1,375 unruly passenger reports made this year alone.
The rate of unruly passengers peaked in 2021 and has since dropped by over 80%, according to FAA data.
The two agencies adopted an information-sharing protocol in 2021 that allows the FAA to refer some cases to the FBI for review.
The partnership aims to ensure that unruly passengers face criminal prosecution when warranted.
During the height of the Covid-19, reports of such incidents surged, reaching a peak in 2021 with nearly 6,000 reports filed. That number included more than 4,000 incidents that involved airlines enforcing mask mandates aboard aircraft.
Since 2021, the FAA has referred more than 310 cases in total to the FBI.
Most incidents this year involved passengers exhibiting aggressive and threatening behaviour towards crew members and other passengers…
