Reports of disruptive and unruly passengers have remained high since 9/11 as airlines have adopted new security precautions, according to government data.
Airlines and federal regulators have warned that misbehaving passengers face tough penalties, but that hasn't led to a decrease in incidents, the records show.
There were 349 cases of unruly passengers reported to federal aviation agencies last year, the second highest total in a decade. The highest yearly total during that period was an inordinately high 482 cases in 2004; officials say it's unclear why such an increase occurred that year.
Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration handle unruly incidents, which range from passengers refusing to take their seats to assaults of crew members.
The number of cases reported to aviation agencies was less than 200 a year in the mid-1990s. The number of cases reached 299 in 2001, the year that terrorist hijackings prompted a revamp of security rules and a change in how flight crews react to misbehavior.
Douglas Laird, a former security director for Northwest Airlines, said the increase is the result of tighter standards that mean much less is tolerated.
Many cases of unruly passengers have received publicity, including the case last December in which a man who falsely said he had a bomb was shot and killed by a federal air marshal in Miami.
The cases reported by the FAA and the TSA represent only those cases in which civil penalties or warning letters were issued. No agency keeps track of criminal cases, which are prosecuted in numerous jurisdictions.
FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette said the agency hopes its noncriminal fines -- of up to $25,000 -- deter misbehavior. TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark said unruly passengers represent a tiny portion of the 2 million people who fly daily.
For more information regarding security at the airports, check out the TSA website and the FAA website regarding security.
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