Column: Bad behavior cost an airline passenger almost $100,000. It's about time.

By Robert Reed

A federal court recently ordered an unruly airline passenger to pay a fine of nearly $100,000 for disrupting a flight from Hawaii to New York City.

My reaction: Hurrah! It’s about time.

Instances of boisterous and uncontrollable passenger behavior on commercial flights are occurring with disturbing frequency, creating dangerous situations for everyone on board, and making airline travel more of an adventure than it should be.

Sure, flying has become incredibly stressful but that’s not an excuse for passengers acting out in the extreme. Smacking disrupters with a hefty penalty puts other knuckleheads on notice that causing trouble in the air can cost big bucks on the ground.

The enforcement action also gives some backup to flight attendants who are at the forefront of trying to simmer down difficult, often inebriated, passengers. In-flight behavior is so worrisome that a few international carriers are giving martial arts training to their flight attendants.

“There is rising tension on board our flights,” said Sara Nelson, international president for the Association of Flight Attendants at a recent congressional hearing on the state of aviation. “De-escalating conflict between passengers has become a significant portion of work flight attendants perform on each flight.”

Over the past five years, 53 percent of airlines say the number of unruly passengers has increased, according to the Canada-based International Air Transport Association, which represents 275 airlines.

In the past 12 months, 40 percent of airlines had to divert a flight because of a passenger behaving badly, the association adds.

Drinking and drugs seems to play an instrumental role in many of these incidents, with at least 23 percent of all reported cases being linked to such substance abuse. (The IATA contends these numbers are likely to “significantly underestimate” the extent of the problem.)

Some routes are known for being rowdier than others: Flights bound for Hawaii and shorter jaunts to Cancun, Mexico, or Las Vegas.

Apparently, transoceanic travel is problematic too. In recent years, British officials have tried to curtail the amount of liquor being served at airport bars and restaurants to passengers killing time before boarding.

While subduing out-of-line flyers falls primarily on the flight crew, the prosecution of troublemakers is usually left to the airlines and government attorneys. More often than not, the cases are not pursued.

In some situations, jurisdictions are difficult to determine (after all, they are occurring in the air) or prosecutors decide the incident isn’t worth the taxpayer-backed cost of building a case.

United typically will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to pursue charges while American, the second-largest carrier flying from O’Hare International Airport, counts on law enforcement to take the lead.

Increasingly, however, the airline industry is urging prosecutors to pursue the most egregious cases, while also pressing the federal government to levy more administrative fines or court-imposed penalties on unruly passengers.

It’s understandable that many travelers will bristle at the thought of the airlines getting tougher on the flying public.

By now, we’re all pretty aware of the litany of indignities while flying, ranging from supertight travel restrictions to cramped airline seats. Toss in April’s passenger-dragging incident of Dr. David Dao from a United regional jet and flyers aren’t inclined to give airlines the benefit of the doubt.

But such frustrations can’t allow dangerous in-flight behavior to go unchecked.

The passenger who was slammed with the $100,000 fine had become so aggressive with a crew member that the pilot had to turn around the November 2016 Hawaiian Airlines flight and go back to Honolulu, according to news reports. His check will go toward repaying the airline for some of the costs incurred because of his actions — including fuel, maintenance, ground crew and the price of finding passengers other flights.

The court made the right call.

Making unruly passengers pay sky-high fines could eventually mean smoother flights for everyone.

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