Rage against the machine(s)
Anyone who’s taken a postcovid flight might wonder where common decency has gone. Yep, air rage has become a growing problem.
Bloomberg reports that so far in 2023, the U.S. has seen “783 air rage incidents”—49 percent more than pre-covid levels.
An American Airlines flight attendant was pinned to the cockpit door over an argument about vegetarian meals. An Air India passenger was restrained after attacking the crew. Jetstar temporarily banned four drunk men in Australia for verbal abuse of customers and staff.
Globally, air rage occurred on one out of every 835 flights in 2021 and rose to one out of every 568 in 2022.
People are breaking e-cigarette and vape rules and aren’t fastening seat belts, which can cause death in unexpected turbulence, not only to the un-belted, but to those around them. (Flying bodies are heavy.)
As a result, the industry is considering “mandatory self-defense training” of personnel. And despite the previously mentioned veggie-gate scandal, there’s a call for beefed-up security at screening points. Alcohol is being blamed, and so is covid.
Peter Elbers, CEO of IndiGo Airlines explains: “Planes were pretty empty and suddenly they were full again, and people lost a little bit of that feeling of being with so many people together.”
So, it’s non-covid induced claustrophobia? Maybe it was for a man on Asiana Airlines in South Korea who tried to open an exit door upon approach to the city of Daegu. He told police he felt suffocated and wanted to get off the plane. (A very strong case could be made that anyone who doesn’t understand that the downside of jumping out of an airplane without a parachute far outweighs the discomfort of staying on it may want to consider rail or bus.)
Other factors may include the questionable act of charging passengers additional fees for committing the sin of checking a suitcase on a multi-night trip. The anger on airplanes could have something to do with the outright fear that there’s no guarantee a checked bag will ever be seen again, or even the strange amount of time it takes just to get on and off planes.
It seems that a little common sense on all sides could be displayed. Passengers should understand that when a ticket is purchased, it doesn’t come with the right to act like they own the plane. Everyone else bought a ticket, too. Nor does the presence of logo’d wings on an employee uniform provide the rights of an autocratic dictator. Ticket purchases are what gets them paid.
But mostly it’s on passengers. Perhaps they should realize that a little gratitude is in order—and that no matter what happens at the airport, or during the flight, the chances that they’ll get from point A to point B at near supersonic speed is almost guaranteed.
That’s almost a miracle.