Fines For Disruptive Plane Passengers, Often Over Masks, Have Reached $1 Million

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/19/ [login to see] /fines-for-disruptive-plane-passengers-often-over-masks-have-reached-1-million
Officials have already fined unruly airline passengers upward of $1 million in civil penalties this year, and many of those citations are related to aggressive refusal to wear masks as required by federal rules.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced in a news release Thursday that since the beginning of the year, the agency has received around 3,889 reports of passengers behaving badly, and around 2,867 — more than 70% — were related to individuals failing to comply with mask mandates and causing a disruption as a result.

During a flight from New York to California in May, an unnamed male passenger not only refused to wear a mask but then also allegedly started harassing other passengers: He threw a playing card at one person and began making "stabbing gestures" at others aboard the aircraft, according to the report. He then snorted what looked to be cocaine out of a plastic bag and continued to be unruly, prompting the crew members to arm themselves with mallets used for crushing ice and zip ties in the event they had to restrain him.