How face masks and Covid anxiety created an air rage pandemic
Two British passengers hopped-up on vodka and brawling on a flight to Ibiza. A young man causing a scene so severe he had to be strapped to his seat while desperately yelping that his parents were millionaires. A group of reality television stars smoking e-cigarettes and repeatedly refusing to wear masks in business class. These are just some snapshots of air rage that have blighted the skies over the past two years – all captured on video of course.
Thanks to our womb-like attachment to our smartphones, no mid-flight meltdown goes undocumented these days, but statistics suggest there has been a significant rise in unruly passengers in recent years. In the US, the upswing has been most dramatic. According to statistics from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), some 4,600 incidents of disruptive passengers were recorded between January and October 2021, of which 849 required further investigation versus a yearly average of 142 over the last decade.
Airline association IATA has also observed an air rage pandemic running parallel to the Covid crisis. During an informal survey conducted last year, the body said one carrier reported more than 1,000 incidents of ‘non-compliance’ in a single week. Another noted a 55 per cent increase in disruptive episodes.
“One explanation for the hike in incidents is that the context has changed,” said Tim Colehan, IATA’s assistant director of government and industry affairs, when responding to the findings.
Mr Colehan pointed squarely to pandemic protocols when explaining the increase, particularly face mask rules.
“Not wearing a mask is arguably no different to not wearing a seatbelt or not putting your laptop away. They involve a failure to follow instructions. But because of the pandemic and the public health implications, not wearing a mask makes it much more personal and has caused confrontation between passengers. It has also led governments, such as the United States, to take a zero-tolerance approach and to encourage incident reporting by crew.”
Just like on the ground, face mask mandates in the sky have proved a highly emotionally charged issue, with those on both sides of the debate generally entrenched about their positions, citing health or liberty with equal fervour. Certainly masks seem at the centre of many outbursts – according to the FAA, of the 889 recorded incidents of disruptive passengers recorded in 2022 (up to March 14), 587 were related to face masks.
If face coverings have been a leading cause of air rage, as mask mandates begin to fade away, passenger rage should logically decrease. Already budget airline Jet2 has announced that masks will no longer be required on flights, while British Airways has begun phasing them out on certain routes and Heathrow Airport no longer requires them to be worn in its terminals. However, as aviation is by nature bound by other countries’ rules and protocols, and many nations seem permanently attached to their FFP2s, it seems unlikely the majority of flights will be mask-free in the near future.
On a wider level, it can be argued that our collective turbulent pandemic experience can account for the rise in unruly passengers. Psychologist Noel McDermott suggests the strain of the past two years is the key issue when it comes to air rage, explaining: “When humans are under stress they will often become aggressive – it’s part of what is often called ‘fight or flight’ responses. ‘Stress’ hormones are essentially the same no matter what the stressor – a predator about to eat you or increased restrictions on flying or passionately held beliefs being challenged or existential dread at a pandemic or war starting.
“The pandemic is absolutely evidenced to have raised anxiety (stress hormones) levels as have its mitigation measures. This can and absolutely does raise tempers across the board. We haven’t just seen it on airlines but we’ve seen the increase in violent crimes and disorder across the whole of civil societies.”
Mr McDermott argues that flying was particularly susceptible to this phenomenon because it is already a trying experience and aviation was put under uniquely extreme restrictions.
“Air travel was always for some people anxiety provoking and stressful anyway but the challenges to it have grown exponentially. The high levels of uncertainty about flights being cancelled, testing regimes and traffic lights status have all made flying more challenging.
“It will take time for the stress levels to reduce and also for the hyper vigilance and triggers to drop.”
So while travel has undoubtedly become more straightforward, we could be experiencing a delayed reaction from the stress of flying during the last two years. And with Covid continuing to circulate at high levels in the UK and certain countries still requiring negative tests to enter, there undoubtedly remains a level of anxiety and uncertainty attached to holidays.
However, the rise in bad behaviour cannot solely be explained by the pandemic, as evidence shows incidents were on the rise before we’d ever heard of Covid. According to figures from the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority), unruly in-flight behaviour more than doubled between 2015 and 2018.
In recent years, the proliferation of cheap flights has led to more of us jetting away for booze-soaked weekends abroad. For some, the holiday begins with a 6am pint at the windowless terminal pub, perhaps followed by a stop at duty-free for discounted tipples. Airlines have previously cited alcohol as a leading cause of passenger outbursts, but the Government recently rejected proposals that would place airport bars under the same rules as high street venues. Still, airlines reserve the right to deny boarding to an obviously intoxicated passenger.
While there is never any excuse for causing a scene in the skies, it could be argued that there’s a connection with airlines’ increasingly shoddy treatment of passengers and a quickness to see red. Incidents of overbooked flights, shrinking legroom and some carriers’ hidden fees could leave some passengers anticipating a stressful experience and ready to explode. Would a return to the golden age of travel herald the return of more respectful behaviour on board? Some might feel a sense of injustice or resentment on board planes. An intriguing academic study from the University of Toronto back in 2016 suggested that passengers in economy were 3.84 times more likely to behave badly if their plane also had a first class cabin.
While many of us have been eager to take to the skies once again, flying has changed and so have passengers. We are only just beginning to grapple with the immense psychological fall-out from the pandemic and the combination of an aviation sector under pressure together with a pre-existing increase in outbursts suggests we will only see more air rage. No doubt many will have their camera phones ready.
