FAA: More than 250 mask incidents reported on flights in first weeks of 2022

New data from the Federal Aviation Administration reveals hundreds of passengers have already interrupted flights during the first six weeks of 2022, many over COVID-19 and mask requirements.

Posted 4:09 p.m. Feb 10, 2022 — Updated 11:25 p.m. Feb 10, 2022

Jessica Patrick

, WRAL Sr. multiplatform producer & Adam Owens, WRAL anchor/reporter

New data from the Federal Aviation Administration reveals hundreds of passengers have already interrupted flights during the first six weeks of 2022, most of them over COVID-19 and mask requirements.

The FAA began collecting data on unruly passengers a year into the pandemic, when incidents on flights became more frequent.

Since Jan. 1, 2022, the FAA has recorded 394 reported incidents on flights nationwide, 255 of those were related to face mask mandates. Investigations were launched into 93 of the incidents, and 40 required the intervention of law enforcement officers.

On Wednesday night, an Orlando-bound flight was diverted to Raleigh-Durham International Airport after a passenger became unruly and threatened violence, forcing flight attendants and passengers to restrain him with belts and use a beverage cart to block the cockpit.

Two days earlier, a flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles was diverted to New Mexico after a passenger made a "threatening statement" to a crew member, a spokesperson for American Airlines said.

Durham-based psychotherapist Kamala Uzzell said over the past two to four years, there have been an increase in anxiety, mental health concerns and substance abuse, and arguments over masks on planes is also playing a part.

"When you put all of that in an enclosed space - in the air for an extended period of time - you are bound sometimes to have issues," said Uzzell. "It doesn't surprise me."

When tension builds on a flight, Uzzell said people should focus on what they can control.

"Take some deep breathes, try to center yourself and focus on where you are going," said Uzzell.

Delta Air Lines said mask arguments have gotten so bad on flights in recent months that it asked the the U.S. Department of Justice to add any person convicted of a disruption on board a flight to the national “no fly” list.

The FAA can propose up to $37,000 per violation for unruly passenger cases.

In 2021, there were a total of 5,981 incidents on flights; 4,290 of those involved masks. More than 1,000 of those incidents were investigated, and 350 enforcement actions were taken.

WRAL Data Trackers found that, between 1995 and 2020, an average of 182 investigations were launched examining on-flight incidents. In 2021, the FAA initiated 1,081 investigations, a nearly 500% increase.

Suggest A Correction