It seems like every day we hear about another violent incident taking place above 30,000 feet, mid-flight somewhere in the world. There are ever more reports o fist fights and other violence breaking out between passengers and people attacking members of the flight crew. And in some cases, people even tried to open an emergency exit during a flight. But why is all of this happening?
Some say it has to do with the fact that airlines these days have stripped down their services and treat their passengers more like cargo than people. And this is after all the headaches associated with air travel to begin with. First, there are long lines at check-in. Then there are the longer lines for the security check where you have to take off your shoes and belt and get treated like a suspect. And then, once you get on the plane, your seat is too narrow with too little leg room and the airline nickel and dimes you for every little thing.
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Former FBI Special Agent Jonathan Gilliam, who was also an air marshal, told Fox News, “The care for the patrons is no longer there. A lot of that occurred because they got fed up with people during COVID. And the other problem is a lot of people left during COVID that were good flight attendants, and now they have, like every other industry, they have people who are just aren’t customer-service oriented.”
And Gilliam said this is not just happening on airplanes. It’s everywhere. “This type of stuff and this type of self-centered, self-indulgent behavior is everywhere now. I mean, we see it everywhere,” he said.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released a new analysis showing that reported unruly passenger incidents increased in 2022 compared to 2021. According to its research, the rate of passengers failing to comply with instructions from the flight crew is up 50%, the rate of passengers verbally abusing staff has almost doubled and the rate of passengers flying intoxicated has also gone up.
(Note: The report compared 2022 to 2021 and in 2021 few were flying due to the Covid pandemic.)
“The increasing trend of unruly passenger incidents is worrying. Passengers and crew are entitled to a safe and hassle-free experience on board. For that, passengers must comply with crew instructions. While our professional crews are well-trained to manage unruly passenger scenarios, it is unacceptable that rules in place for everyone’s safety are disobeyed by a small but persistent minority of passengers. There is no excuse for not following the instructions of the crew,” said Conrad Clifford, IATA’s Deputy Director General.
All of this must make flight attendants more appreciative of staffing flights to and from Israel. They have always engaged in the lesser issues listed by IATA under “non-compliance” like bringing too much carry-on stuff onboard and taking up all of the overhead storage spaces. And then there is the fact that they never wait for the plane to come to a complete stop after landing before they get out of their seats and start to take their bags out of the compartments.
The traditional problems Israelis notoriously cause seem like nothing when compared to actually hitting flight attendants.
