How Airlines Classify Disruptive and Annoying Passengers

Since the pandemic, incidents involving unruly passengers on airlines have increased.

There were nearly 6,000 reports in 2021, nearly five times more than a year earlier, according to Federal Aviation Administration data.

Over the next three years, the number of incidents remained about twice as high as those reported before the pandemic.

As of September 28, 1,205 reports have been recorded this year. This is already more than in 2020, although it is an encouraging sign that the numbers are decreasing.

“Incidents in which airline passengers disrupt flights with threatening or violent behavior are a persistent problem and airlines have seen rapid growth in these events since 2021,” the FAA says on its statistics page.

“The rate of incidents involving unruly passengers has steadily declined by more than 80% since records at the start of 2021, but recent increases show there is still work to be done,” it adds.

The International Civil Aviation Organization defines a disruptive passenger as one “who fails to observe the rules of conduct at an airport or on board an aircraft or fails to follow the instructions of airport personnel or crew members and thereby disrupts good order and discipline at an airport or on board the aircraft.”

It also classifies them into four levels. Business Insider has outlined the tiers below, including an example of each type of disruption.

1. Disruptive behavior

The lowest category of unruly passenger involves being verbally disruptive. This could include swearing or threatening other travelers or crew members, and refusing to follow crew instructions.

In 2023, a bachelor party delayed their flight by three hours after harassing the crew and other passengers.

The seven men, including the groom-to-be wearing a pilot’s suit, were on board a TUI plane to the Bulgarian resort of Sunny Beach.

After being told they were not allowed to drink alcohol on board, the men swore at other passengers who asked them to calm down. When a flight attendant warned them, “they cheered loudly and whistled like a wolf,” one passenger told WalesOnline.

Security removed the men from the flight, while confusion over the passengers’ manifest extended the delay.

2. Physically violent behavior

The second level involves physically abusing other passengers or crew. This may include hitting, grabbing and spitting.

In May, an American Airlines flight attendant was assaulted by a passenger, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

About 30 minutes into the trip, Julius Jordan Priester grabbed a flight attendant by the collar and “forcibly brought the victim to the ground,” he added.

It says Priester, 24, then tried to drag them down the aisle before other passengers intervened. The plane landed in Hartford, Connecticut, a little more than an hour after takeoff.

3. Potentially fatal behavior

This is when an unruly passenger is so violent that they could put someone’s life in danger. This also includes the use or display of a weapon.

Last year, an Alaska Airlines passenger stabbed an off-duty law enforcement officer with an improvised weapon, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

He adds that Julio Alvarez Lopez admitted to making the weapon before the robbery by gathering pens and a rubber band.

As the plane began to descend, Lopez went to the bathroom, then came out and began attacking the victim, leaving “blood everywhere,” according to the affidavit.

4. Attempted or actual cockpit violation

The most serious level of unruly passenger involves trying to enter the cockpit without permission – or even entering it at all.

Last year, Alaska Airlines cabin crew had to use a beverage cart to prevent a passenger from entering the cockpit, prosecutors said.

Court documents say Nathan Jones attempted to open the cockpit door three times during a flight from San Diego to Washington, DC.

When a flight attendant asked him why, Jones reportedly replied that he was “testing them.”

Off-duty law enforcement officers “restrained Jones with flex cuffs and sat on either side of him,” while cabin crew barricaded the cockpit door with the cart.