Have we all forgotten how to behave ourselves in public? If you ask a flight attendant or anyone who works in the airline industry, the answer is almost certainly a resounding yes.
Once vaccines became available, people began to cautiously make their way back onto airplanes. But social media was soon filled with stories of irate customers flipping out at flight attendants who told them that wearing a mask was required for entry, as was largely the case until earlier this year.
In one viral TikTok from last year, a passenger on a United Airlines flight lost his mind after being told to mask up, replying, “Take me off, I don’t even want to go to Cali,” and threatening, “I will find your name, date of birth and address. I’ll know your social security number before I get off this plane.” He then aggressively confronted a flight attendant, later screaming “let’s go to jail” once the police arrived to escort him off the plane.
Earlier that year, one Southwest Airlines flight attendant had two of her teeth knocked out by an irate woman that was later charged with battery for causing serious bodily injury.
The incident prompted Lyn Montgomery, the president of TWU Local 556, to write Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly a letter, stressing that this assault was just one example of travelers assaulting airline workers, stating, “The unprecedented number of incidents has reached an intolerable level, with passenger non-compliance events also becoming more aggressive in nature.”
But a recent incident on Turkish Airlines has reached new heights of unhinged passenger behavior, and demonstrates that people haven’t remembered how to act in public.
So What Happened On A Turkish Airlines Flight?
On a recent Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul Airport to Jakarta, a reportedly drunken passenger raised the bar for bad behavior on an airline, according to Simple Flying.
The passenger was initially annoyed by a small onboard dog, and when instructed to calm down, “turned aggressive before biting the finger of one of the flight attendants.”
When confronted by cabin crew, the person began throwing punches and had to be restrained before the aircraft made a stop in Kualanamu International Airport in Medan. Additionally, other passengers turned on the individual, causing him “unknown injuries.”
It turns out they really, really should have known better, as the aggressor turned out to be a pilot with Indonesian carrier Batik Air. The flight eventually continued, arriving at its intended destination around three hours later than scheduled. The Deli Serdang Police in Medan reportedly intend to open an investigation.
So What Is Going On Here?
So why exactly are people so unhinged on airplanes these days? Does everyone need therapy? (Almost certainly, but that’s always been the case.)
By August 10 of last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that a total of 3,810 aggressive or unruly passengers had been reported to the agency so far this year, with 2,786 of those being passengers who refused to comply with the federal mask mandate.
Experts have a variety of explanations for what is happening here, and a few theories collected by Health include the idea that people are relearning the rules of flying (which honestly seems dubious) to pent-up anger and unprocessed mental trauma induced by the covid-mandated lockdown and the cultural turmoil of the past few years, as well as a lingering anxiety about enclosed in tight places.
There’s also the fact that in a hyper-divided, intensely polarized society many people are encouraged to see others who seem culturally different from them as the enemy, and relish a chance to confront them.
As with so much about post-covid life (which isn’t really a thing) it’s unclear if things will ever “go back to normal.”
The good news, at least, is that if you’re looking for an excuse to not fly home for the holidays, saying that you no longer feel comfortable on airplanes is a pretty solid one, and also a sad commentary on the current state of affairs.
