Warning From Flight Crews: Airplane Passenger Rage is On the Rise in 2025

(KNUE-FM) If you thought fellow airline travellers seemed irritable and stressed before, you may want to brace yourself.

While I've not personally seen episodes such as these flying out of either Tyler or Dallas, Texas, I've seen enough videos to know it's a problem.

According to an article from Business Insider, red flags have been raised by flight attendants who claim travelers on flights just seem...angrier.

Are Americans Bringing Outside Stress On Board Flights?

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Flight attendants claim they've seen an uptick in passengers with shorter fuses and even aggressive behavior in some cases.

Some even claim the angry encounters begin before the plane takes off, which may not be bad. If you knew an extremely irritable person was about to be on board your overnight, ocean-crossing flight to Iceland, you might prefer to see that angry potential before take-off when you would be caught off guard.

However, the number of people projecting more angry behavior, who perhaps otherwise wouldn't, could cause concern.

What is Causing This Alleged Anger on Airplanes?

Business Insider reported that many flight attendants blame the country's overall tension, which seems to be on the rise. Whether it's political stress, money issues, or just burnout, the numbers seem to back it up if we look back over the last several years.

READ MORE: Texas Jobs At Risk as Southwest Airlines Plans Massive Layoffs

"Airline crews have reported 12,900 unruly passenger incidents to the Federal Aviation Administration since 2021. That year kicked off a grim new era of air travel, with a record-smashing 5,973 in-flight outbursts ranging in severity from rude or disruptive behavior to outright violence — a more than 400% increase from 2019."

A Surge in In-Flight Confrontations

2024 had double the 2019 numbers regarding "unruly passenger incidents."

And it's not getting better.

Crews report that they are now receiving training about the best ways to handle these sometimes physical conflicts or angry passengers yelling at one another.

This is beyond concerning.

Once, we may have embraced politeness simply because that's a more pleasant way to live in this world, particularly when being processed through the airport security system and crammed on a plane with strangers.

Still, at the very least, patience is necessary to ensure that we all get where we're going safely.

Here's data directly from the FAA.