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Have you experienced passenger violence in the air?

Who expects such to occur?

After all, you make it through the entire rigmarole of getting to the airport three hours early, waiting on line for the security check and finally getting boarded on the flight to your destination - business or pleasure - and you think, ahhh now I can relax. Then unexpectedly, while the flight is cruising at 35,000 feet (10,000 meters), a brawl breaks out in the aisle. A scene from a Hollywood movie? No, a scene playing out far too often, as passenger violence in the air continues to increase.

Let’s look at a few recent incidents. You will note a common thread woven through these incidents.

ABC NEWS - shared on 26 May 2018 the story of a mid-air brawl involving an intoxicated passenger.

An airline passenger on an American Airlines flight to Miami was arrested after he allegedly launched into a midair, profanity-laced tirade and traded punches with others on the plane who were trying to restrain him. An off-duty police officer on the plane, dressed in a blue plaid shirt in the video, stepped in to try to restrain the unruly passenger, but Felix only became more enraged. Finally, another passenger talked down Felix and he calmed down.

American Airlines said in a statement they were proud of the way their employees handled the situation.

“On Wednesday, May 23, American Airlines requested law enforcement meet flight 1293 from St. Croix to Miami due to a disruptive passenger. We thank our crew for taking care of our customers and are proud of the work they do every single day. Please contact law enforcement for additional details.”

But sometimes flights never get off the ground, before a passenger acts inappropriately. A fight ensues, this time with law-enforcement. In this instance, which occurred on 23 April 2018, the accused “hit on a female passenger” and then “inappropriately touched the female passenger.” With sexual assault in the air a reality, the crew appropriately called law enforcement was called to remove him from the flight. The removed passenger put up a mild fight on the plane, but is then reported to have reached for a police officer’s weapon and once in the squad car, to have kicked out the rear windows. We have Miami’s WPLG10, video reporting below.

And who can forget the over-the-seat brawl on an ANA Tokyo-Los Angeles flight which occurred before the flight even took off, on 01 May 2017?
The New York Times reports: Michihiko Aoi, a police official at Narita, said Wednesday evening that “a man of American nationality in his 40s was taken off NH6, as he had flown into a rage and caused trouble on the plane.” The man was drunk, he added.

Video captures fistfight on Los Angeles-bound flight after a passenger became enraged and began throwing punches https://t.co/23fbE86RiO pic.twitter.com/ia73YwDR60

— CNN (@CNN) May 2, 2017

Fox News reports on a fight which broke out over overhead bins on a Southwest flight on 02 March 2018.

Fox News tells us:

Drama unfolded onboard an aircraft in Dallas, when a fistfight broke out between two male passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight getting ready to depart to Los Angeles. In the March 2 incident, witnesses claim that a man began arguing with flight attendants regarding overhead bins on the Southwest aircraft, Fox 4 reported. When asked to deplane, the man refused and soon afterward the pilot asked all passengers to exit.

Violent brawl delays Southwest Airlines flight after overhead bin fight https://t.co/Ak0o8YW0Uy

— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 8, 2018

I can provide more and more examples, as incident such as these happen with far to great of frequency. The common denominator? I am sure you have deduced is alcohol.

Our safety advice if/when confronted by an intoxicated passenger, is not to take matters into your own hands (unless to protect yourself from immediate harm) and to let the flight crew handle it. They, unlike you, have been through training on diffusing situations such as handling the unruly. Trust me on this, if they need help, they will call for assistance.

In this day and age of hyper-sensitivity, cordiality and patience reign high. Pack light, share space, we’re all in this together. Yes, the airline industry has changed the idea of air travel, by trying (and succeeding) in getting more and more bodies inside the aluminum tube.