Flight attendants grapple with ‘unprecedented rise’ in unruly passengers

As Americans return to the skies, the US flight authority has investigated more than 600 incidents this year

The latest high-profile incident of air rage in American skies came on 31 July. Video from a Frontier Airlines flight showed a passenger bound with duct tape to his seat, after he had acted aggressively and allegedly grabbed a flight attendant's breasts.

It was far from the first case of unruly behavior this year in the US. In the first six months of 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has investigated more than 600 incidents involving unruly passengers, nearly double the number in the previous two years combined.