FAA Has Referred Hundreds of Violent, Disruptive Airline Passengers to the FBI for Criminal Investigation

The Federal Aviation Administration has referred over 250 unruly airline passenger cases to the FBI since late 2021.
The referrals involved assaults, threats of violence, and attempted breaches of the cockpit.
Incidents of disruptive behavior on planes have dropped sharply since the mask mandate ended but remain an ongoing problem.
Lawmakers are pushing for legislation to ban the most seriously disruptive passengers from commercial air travel.
The surge in unruly passenger incidents in 2021 came amid disputes over mask wearing and reflected rising tensions in society.