Wednesday, July 7, 1999 | 9:43 a.m.
People who fly into or out of Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport, especially on late-night commercial flights, are aware that some passengers can get rowdy. All it usually takes is one warning from a flight attendant and the obnoxious behavior is quelled. Sometimes, however, this quarrelsome attitude can become violent as other passengers or airline employees are attacked. In a recent incident Las Vegas Metro Police had to arrest a Southwest Airlines passenger on a flight from San Diego after he allegedly assaulted flight attendants.
"Air rage" on our nation's commercial airlines is getting worse. In 1997 the Federal Aviation Administration issued civil penalties against 121 passengers, a 60 percent increase over the previous year. And as the Sun's Cheryl Miller reported last week, Las Vegas is particularly prone to "air rage." A special agent in the FBI's Las Vegas office told Miller that this city's drinking and gambling atmosphere, coupled with late evening flights, contribute to people becoming violent while in the air.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has experienced "air rage" firsthand. A few years ago Reid and other men helped restrain a passenger who had attacked a flight attendant. Reid and Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., a licensed commercial pilot and husband of a former flight attendant, have introduced legislation that would increase the civil penalties for someone convicted of violent or unruly behavior, allowing up to $25,000 in fines instead of the current maximum of $1,100. In addition, the bill would give the U.S. secretary of transportation the power to ban passengers from flying if they're found guilty of dangerous behavior during flights.
On the one hand, airline deregulation has benefited many travelers, resulting in lower prices, but some suggest deregulation's adverse effects may foster "air rage." Deregulation has brought with it more competition and this has resulted in airlines focusing almost solely on their bottom lines, requiring cuts in services they once offered. While jamming in more seats may help profits, this in turn reduces leg room and can create irritable passengers. Many passengers also feel that airlines have lost touch with customer service, treating them no better than cattle.
Still, crowded aisles and an occasional lack of courtesy by airline employees is no excuse for passengers to explode into violent rages. Reid's legislation is a positive step, but it remains to be seen whether it will act as a sufficient deterrent to unruly behavior. After all, "air rage" is not the only phenomenon involving travel. "Road rage" also has become more commonplace, as people take out their frustrations on fellow motorists, sometimes with deadly outcomes. In part, "air rage" can be attributed to a coarsening of American society, where an increasing number of people simply don't show the same respect for others that they once did. It is a sad commentary indeed that it requires another federal law to force people to act civilly when flying at 25,000-plus feet.
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