The FAA has already investigated more than 600 unruly passenger incidents in 2021 – nearly double the amount of 2019 and 2020 combined

• The FAA said it has investigated more than 600 reports of unruly passenger behavior since 2021 began.
• That’s nearly double the number of investigated incidents in 2019 and 2020 combined.
• The agency said it has proposed fines in 99 of those incidents thus far.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

From shirking mask requirements to physically assaulting flight attendants, airline passengers are acting up in extreme ways and at alarming rates in 2021.

Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration said airlines have reported 3,715 incidents involving unruly passengers since the start of the year, more than 75% of which have stemmed from people refusing to wear federally-required face masks on planes.

Of the nearly 4,000 reported incidents, the FAA said it has started investigating more than 600 – nearly double the number it investigated in 2019 and 2020 combined, according to the Associated Press.

The agency said it has proposed fines in 99 of those incidents.

Earlier this year, the FAA began cracking down on unruly passengers in an attempt to assuage the rampant misbehavior that seemingly spiked during the pandemic. In May, the agency proposed a combined $100,000 in fines for just four passengers who refused to follow the rules.

Then, last week, the agency sent a letter to US airports asking for help protecting travelers and flight attendants from disorderly passengers. The FAA, which prohibits passengers from drinking alcohol on the plane that isn’t served by the airline, asked airports to ban travelers from bringing to-go cocktails from airport bars on aircrafts.

FAA chief Stephen Dickson also asked local police to help hold unruly passengers accountable once an incident occurs. While the agency has proposed several civil fines against dozens of passengers this year, Dickson stressed that the FAA has no authority to file criminal charges.

In a survey of 5,000 flight attendants conducted by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union earlier this year, more than 85% of respondents said they had dealt with unruly passengers this year. Sixty-one percent reported having heard racist, sexist, or homophobic slurs during altercations, and 17% said they had experienced a physical incident in the first half of 2021.

Five flight attendants told Insider’s Allana Akhtar that they want passengers to stop directing anger toward them. The airline employees attributed the rise in unruly behavior to a heated political climate and fear and anxiety stemming from a year-and-a-half of COVID-19.

The 3,715 unruly incidents reported by airlines in 2021 so far already mark a nearly threefold increase from years’ past, and there are still four-and-a-half months left in 2021.