Flight Attendants Fume Over Air Rage Epidemic

July 6, 2001 (Washington) — The Association of Flight Attendants says the nation’s skies aren’t getting friendlier — they’re becoming angrier. And the consequences could prove disastrous.

Consider Lynn White’s case. The United Airlines flight attendant was on a run between San Francisco and Shanghai last April when she says a woman attempted to use the airplane’s internal phone system to make a long distance call. White claims she tried to reason with the woman, who then became quite unruly. Finally, her twin sister got involved and the situation deteriorated into an obscene melee.

At that point in the struggle, White says she got hit by the twin and wound up with a black eye and a swollen nose. The confrontation went on for hours, and ultimately the pilot had to detour to Anchorage. The matter is still pending in court.

“Until it is prosecuted, until I see them receive some kind of punishment, I’m not up for jail. Make them write a handwritten apology to every crewmember, every passenger on that flight,” says White. “If we’d had an emergency, I shudder to think what might of happened,” says White, who’s clearly still shaken by the incident.

In another case, US Airways employee Jim Bishop says a passenger on a short flight became abusive and ultimately choked a flight attendant, who was saved by three passengers. The passenger’s punishment was a $1,000 fine.

Why is air rage a growing problem now? The flight attendants say it’s a number of things, from overcrowded flights to unexpected delays or overselling air travel as a glamour experience. Whatever it is, flight attendants say they often get the worst of a deteriorating situation.

The AFA, the flight attendant association of some 50,000 aviation workers, has just issued a new report card, which gives the airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Department of Justice failing grades for their efforts to control situations like these.

Based on industry data, the AFA says some 4,000 air rage incidents are reported each year, and it appears the trend is getting worse. “Five years ago, I didn’t have to worry about going to work and getting beat up,” says Patricia Friend, the AFA’s president.

Among the association’s complaints: the airlines have placed profits ahead of cabin safety, the FAA doesn’t require airlines to report all air rage incidents, and the Department of Justice hasn’t followed through on a new law that would allow law enforcement officials to arrest passengers suspected of interfering with crew members.

Air rage, meaning assaulting, threatening, intimidating, or interfering with flight attendants, is against the law. The penalties include up to 20 years in prison and fines as high as $25,000. But the flight attendants union says that in the last year, just one fine for air rage has actually been collected.