Unruly passengers on flights to be prosecuted swiftly, says US attorney general

Airlines report more than 5,000 incidents involving passenger behaviour on flights this year

The US attorney general Merrick Garland has directed the swift prosecution of federal crimes on commercial flights as officials face a large increase in the number of investigations into passenger behaviour.

Airlines and their unions have pressed the US government to push more aggressively for criminal prosecution. Airlines have reported more than 5,000 incidents involving unruly passengers this year, with more than 3,600 of those involving people who refused to wear face masks.