FAA will make Zero Tolerance policy against unruly passengers permanent

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will make its Zero Tolerance policy against unruly passengers permanent. The behavior of few passengers leaves something to be desired, the FAA implemented the policy on 13 January 2021 after seeing a disturbance increase in unruly passenger incidents. Under the policy, the FAA issues fines to passengers for unruly behavior instead of warning letters or counseling.

“Behaving dangerously on a plane will cost you; that’s a promise,” said Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen. “Unsafe behavior simply does not fly and keeping our Zero Tolerance policy will help us continue making progress to prevent and punish this behavior.”

The Zero Tolerance policy, combined with the agency’s public awareness campaign, has helped reduce the incident rate more than 60 percent. The FAA will continue to work with its airline, labor, airport and security and law enforcement partners to continue driving down the number of incidents.

As of 16 February 2022, the FAA referred 80 unruly passenger cases to the FBI for criminal review. The agency is also working with the TSA to revoke TSA PreCheck from unruly passengers that are fined by the FAA.

Please see these links for more information on the Zero Tolerance Policy and unruly passengers.