By Bill Galluccio
May 18, 2021
Every week it seems like there is another news story about unruly passengers being removed from airplanes. The number of incidents has risen over the past year as airlines have been tasked with enforcing mask mandates put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
That concerns Federal Aviation Administration Administrator
Steve Dickson.
"We have seen an alarming increase in the rate over the last few months, and it's something that we need to get under control," Dickson told
ABC News. "This is something that we should all be concerned about."
His comments came after the FAA announced it had proposed nearly $100,000 in fines against four airline passengers. One passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Seattle, Washington, received a $52,500 fine for trying to open the cockpit door. It was the largest fine the agency has ever handed out. In total, the agency has proposed $350,000 in fines to passengers in 2021.