Even after mask mandates and COVID-19 safety measures have been lifted, airlines are seeing a spike in bad behavior from their passengers.

According to a report from the International Air Transport Association, unruly passenger incidents increased by 47 percent from 2021 to 2022, with one incident reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one every 835 the previous year.

“The increasing trend of unruly passenger incidents is worrying," said Conrad Clifford, IATA’s Deputy Director General. "Passengers and crew are entitled to a safe and hassle-free experience on board. For that, passengers must comply with crew instructions."

The most common incidents are non-compliance, verbal abuse, and intoxication. Examples include smoking of cigarettes or vapes, failure to fasten seatbelts, not following carry-on bag rules, and consuming their own alcohol on board. Physical abuse remains rare, but still saw a 61 percent increase from 2021 with one incident every 17,200 flights.

"While our professional crews are well trained to manage unruly passenger scenarios, it is unacceptable that rules in place for everyone’s safety are disobeyed by a small but persistent minority of passengers," Clifford continued. "There is no excuse for not following the instructions of the crew."

The report's authors called on nations to ratify the Montreal Protocol 2014 (MP14), which would enable States other to exercise jurisdiction over unruly passengers, regardless of where the passenger is from or where the flight arrived from.

“No one wants to stop people having a good time when they go on holiday — but we all have a responsibility to behave with respect for other passengers and the crew," Clifford said. "For the sake of the majority, we make no apology for seeking to crack down on the bad behavior of a tiny number of travelers who can make a flight very uncomfortable for everyone else."