ALSO Know-It-All: Got a travel gripe? Here's how to get what you want

December 21, 1999
Web posted at: 10:08 a.m. EST (1508 GMT)

From Stephanie Oswald
CNN Travel Now Correspondent

ATLANTA (CNN) - Long lines at the airport, packed flights, less leg room. Those are just a few factors that may lead to incidents of air rage.

"The gamut of this runs from people just being obnoxious and having obnoxious behavior to people actually taking part in dangerous activities," says David Fuscus, of the Air Transport Association (ATA).

Much of the behavior isn't just dangerous but it is illegal. Air rage is a federal offense, says Bruce Butterworth of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He defines air rage as "threats, assaults and interference with flight crews in the performance of their duties while on the airplane."

Just like its counterpart "road rage," air rage appears to be on the rise. A survey conducted by Conde Nast Traveler magazine indicates that responding readers feel their fellow passengers are less polite.

Forty-eight percent of those surveyed say other fliers behave less well than they did three years ago. Eighty-nine percent asked say planes are more crowded now. And 75 percent of those responding to the survey say they believe check-in lines are longer.

"You've got so many people fighting for as much space as they can get in this confined area," says Wendy Perrin, consumer news editor for Conde Nast Traveler. "Of course people are going to get tense, and maybe they're going to get a bit nasty."

Fuscus says the number of incidents should be put into perspective. "There may be 4,000 or 5,000 instances of disruptive passengers a year," he says. "And that's out of over 600 million passengers. It's on the rise, but it's still very rare."

At eight airports, the FAA has a special program for reporting and dealing with incidents of air rage. Butterworth says that means collecting evidence needed to prosecute, making sure the prosecution takes place and adding civil penalties.

Congress also is considering a bill that would increase the fine for interfering with flight crews from about $1,000 to $25,000 and ban offenders from flying for a year.

Correspondent Stephanie Oswald contributed to this report

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