Did you know the FAA has already received 335 reports of unruly passengers in 2026 so far? In fact, $200,000 in fines have been issued against unruly passengers in the United States in less than three months, with 12 enforcement actions and 14 investigations initiated. Last week, United Airlines announced a new rule requiring all passengers to wear headphones when using devices emitting sound, with non-complicit passengers facing removal and even a ban, marking the latest effort to reduce tension and issues on planes.

It begs the question: Are the days of air travel etiquette truly behind us?

With airlines implementing more and more rules to ensure passengers adhere to policies and codes of conduct, one can’t help but wonder if travelers have simply become more emboldened, or if factors like crowded flights, more delays and cancellations, and other stressors are to blame.

Perhaps it’s a bit of both.

According to NPR, the pandemic played a massive role, and there are conflicting theories as to why. Comparing 2019 FAA reported incidents to 2023 ones, there was a 70 percent increase of unruly passenger incidents. The U.S. Department of Transportation also found, in 2024, there was double the number of unruly passenger events compared to 2019.

After more than a year of social isolation, planes filled every single seat on aircraft, meaning more humans packed tightly into one small location. This increases the chance of conflict and tension.

Full planes also mean packed overhead bins and fewer options for rebooking when flights are delayed or canceled. And, according to Thom McDaniel, a Southwest Airlines flight attendant who spoke with NPR, when these things go wrong, angry passengers take their frustration out on the closest target, which, in this case, is often flight attendants and employees at the airport.

But we can’t forget about the common culprit in many cases, too: alcohol. Whether served in the airport or on the plane, many unruly passengers had been drinking or mixing alcohol with prescription drugs. The issue with serving alcohol is enforcement isn’t always consistent. Federal U.S. laws prohibit serving alcohol to visibly intoxicated passengers, but sometimes passengers do not show signs of intoxication until they’re on the aircraft. Additionally, airport restaurants and bars heavily rely on revenue from drinkers, so any effort to restrict them from serving alcohol would be difficult to implement.

Then there’s the less serious but still heavily debated topic of attire at an airport. In November 2025, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launched a campaign called The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You, which aimed to initiate conversations about how to restore courtesy and class to air travel. This included points like dressing with respect, saying please and thank you, showing appreciation to flight attendants, and other tips.

Do you think airport and plane etiquette has changed over the years or since the pandemic? What sort of behavior are you seeing more/less often? Email us at letters@globaltravelerusa.com. Please include your full name and location.